


Four Seasons of Loving You

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Christmas, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drinking, F/M, Halloween, Hanami, Holidays, Japanese Culture, Many different end-game ships, Married Life, Pet Names, Polyamorous relationship, Reminiscing, Seasons, Umi no Hi, family life, lovechildren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 00:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18487861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Four seasons, four holidays, four different AUs of 'what could've been', four different universes. Chihiro spending time in each universe with the four women he loves. In each universe, the lives of his classmates change depending on who he married as well as his own life. Did he make the right choice in each universe? Well, no time for that now. It's time to celebrate the holidays!Tagged ships are only the ships involving Chihiro. Full list of ships are at the start of each chapter.Also on FanFiction.net





	1. A Star-Studded Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayaka and Chihiro are eager to celebrate Halloween this year. How do they celebrate it? By throwing a party fit for a celebrity, of course! As expected, shenanigans, a few drunken, ensue. Poor Sayaka. 
> 
> Ships: SayakaxChihiro; IbukixHiyoko, HajimexNagitoxChiaki, MakotoxKyoko, CelestiaxMondo, LeonxKaede, IshimaruxTouko, SoniaxGundham

The late evening sun shone through the golden-red leaves, spraying the streets with shimmering gold light that resembled rich jewels. Even the poorest person would feel like royalty if they were bathed in such colours. This time of day, the air had become pleasantly chilly, the sort of temperature where one wouldn't complain about having to bundle up.

Even the wealthier part of the city was filled with people who were outside enjoying the height of Autumn before the cold enviably turned for the worst. Especially with what was coming up in a few days.

Chihiro shivered lightly in his light green coat, one that nearly went down to his knees. Despite his sudden growth spurt, he found himself having trouble finding clothes that fit him. He disliked that, as it gave off the impression that he was some sloppy coder who cared more about their work than hygiene. And being unhygienic was a great way to lose business in his line of work.

He found his house, a bright pink monstrosity that resembled a Barbie Dream House come to life, and pushed open the door, surprised that he saw a lot of lights on inside. Was she still awake? How strange. She enjoyed her sleep, yet when he actually walked into the house, there she was, bent over some sewing, hard at work.

His beautiful wife. He blushed lightly when she finally noticed his presence and gave him a huge smile.

"Chihiro-kun! Good evening! How was your day at work?" Sayaka asked cheerfully, returning to her sewing. At her side was a very detailed fairy princess costume in a light pink; her current project was identical except in a shade of light blue.

"Same as usual. I did a lot of freelance work. I had to help someone make a conspiracy website," He laughed lightly. "Reminds me of someone," He pulled off his coat and hung it up, revealing a dark grey business suit on underneath. "Are the girls in bed already?"

"Yup! They were hard to settle down though. They're just so excited for Halloween!"

"Momoko and Umeko? Excited and unable to sleep?" He asked in slight doubt, going into the kitchen. He opened up the fridge and found some cold beef stew, pouting lightly. He was suddenly glad he had eaten at a take-out place before he left work earlier. "How was your day?" He asked nicely, pulling out a can of soda and popping it open loudly.

"Uneventful. I mostly just stayed at home and sewed the girls' costumes," Sayaka explained. "I was thinking about just buying them this year, but the store was all out of fairy princess costumes. Momoko was very adamant about her idea, while Umeko said she didn't care what she went as. So I promised the girls I would just make their outfits by hand," She held up the blue dress, showing off all of the little details she put into it. "This is Momoko's, obviously. I'm actually glad I decided to do it like this. I can make the outfits look however I want!"

Chihiro walked over to Sayaka and blushed even more. He didn't say anything as he stood there and watched her sew, taking a few sips of soda. He glanced up at the pictures that filled their living room walls; despite note being in any chronological order, it was pretty clear they told the story of their lives. Many were of when Sayaka and Chihiro attended Hope's Peak Academy together; Class of 2013. It was where they met, where they had their first kiss. The next picture was their wedding portrait. Then the next few were different scenes of them and their daughters; two identical twin girls. The most recent picture was of the girls celebrating their twelfth birthday over the summer.

"Is everything ready for the party tomorrow?" He finally asked awkwardly. "I'm going to be out Trick-or-Treating with the girls, so I won't be able to help you,"

"Of course! I sent out the last of the invitations a few days ago! So far, it seems everyone will be able to come," She cut a stray thread from the costume and looked it over again, nodding in approval. "It'll be so much fun! Like a high-school reunion, but all spooky!" She carefully stood up and gathered the two costumes in her arms, carrying them to her bedroom and hanging them up in the closet. "I want to keep them a secret...for now."

Chihiro yawned as he peeked into the closet and noticed his own costume hanging up beside the twins'. He was surprised she had finished his so quickly. Sayaka smiled and started getting ready for bed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and slipping on her pajamas in one quick motion. She jumped right into the bed, bouncing slightly. "Come on, get in bed with me!"

He nodded, blushing heavily and stifling another yawn as he pulled on his own pajamas and crawled into bed next to her. She instantly snuggled closer to him, enjoying his warmth.

"No paparazzi broke the door down?" He asked shyly, keeping his voice low.

"Nope! But they might come tomorrow to shoot our party. But I don't mind that. At least it's something people wanna read about, right? As long as Momoko and Umeko aren't in very many of the shots, I'm okay with it," Sayaka pulled Chihiro closer to her, closing her eyes. "You're so warm and soft, bunny."

He blushed even more and gently placed a hand on her head, curling up closer into her touch. "Same with you, blueberry muffin,"

"Do you think we have time? Just for a quickie?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Please bunny?"

"...Alright..."

"Yay! Don't worry, I just took a pill this morning!"

########

Chihiro woke up early the next morning, his hair a huge mess and drool coming out of his mouth. He quickly wiped his mouth off in disgust and glanced around, noticing Sayaka clinging tightly onto him, fast asleep. He smiled happily at her, appreciating how cute she looked like this.

How did he become so lucky? He would never know. Sayaka was easily the most desirable and sought-after girl in his class, and even some of the upperclassmen and a few underclassmen too all wanted to try and win her affections. And yet, he was the one who got her. Some weak computer geek who spent almost all of his high-school career hiding behind both a computer screen and a flouncy skirt. Somehow, she decided to approach him and improve their relationship. He knew a lot of his former classmates were openly jealous of his luck, especially when they walked around town together, but for once, Chihiro found himself not caring. He had married Sayaka and had a family with her, not them. So they could get over it.

He managed to slip out of her tight grip and smoothed his hair down slightly, going into the bathroom and taking a long shower. The girls would be waking up soon, and Sayaka would likely follow. Then she would probably make breakfast for everyone.

After he took his shower, he put on a light yellow striped shirt with brown slacks and sneakers, running his fingers through his wet hair to try and tame it slightly. Luckily, he didn't have work that day, so he could spend the day with Sayaka preparing their house for their party later that night. He then headed into the large kitchen, smelling something delicious.

Sayaka gave him a large smile, still dressed in her light blue pajamas with cats patterned on them. Her lacy pink apron was tied firmly around her figure as she stared into the oven.

"Making anything good?" He asked cheerfully.

"Blueberry muffins! A household favourite!" Sayaka motioned to the oven.

"Papa!" Two girlish voices rung out happily, and Chihiro found himself being hugged tightly on both sides by two identical twin girls with waist-long blue hair and sparkling hazel eyes.

"Good morning. Do you sleep well?" Umeko asked nicely, instantly letting go of Chihiro. Her hair was pinned back with a light purple barrette and she was already dressed in her Sixth Black Root Middle School uniform.

"Of course. But how about you? Did you sleep well?" He teased, patting her head. He then gently unlatched Momoko from his waist.

"I wish school could be cancelled on Halloween. How am I supposed to get my work done when I'm so excited about all of the candy I'm going to get?" Momoko protested, a pink barrette in her hair. The barrettes were the only way to tell the girls apart.

"Alter-Ego, what's the weather going to be like for tonight?" Umeko asked, staring up at the ceiling. Momoko bounced off and picked up her briefcase.

"The weather today will be sunny with a warm temperature! Perfect for partying or Trick-or-Treating, Mistress!" Alter-Ego chimed happily, answering from its position near the front door. It had become a lot more advanced since Chihiro first created it back in high school. It now materialized as a shiny green hologram; still preferring the form of how its creator looked while attending school. It was a faithful servant to the Fujisaki family, being smitten with Chihiro's daughters. "Is there anything else you request of me?"

"What's your favourite type of candy?" Momoko pressed, leaning in front of the hologram.

"Chocolate bars, Mistress!"

"That's cheating! That's Papa's favourite too!"

"I have the same tastes as Master! Even if I cannot eat any of that myself, he assures me it all tastes very good!" Alter-Ego clasped its hands together happily.

"Breakfast!" Sayaka announced, placing a warm blueberry muffin, sliced oranges, and a glass of milk at each girls' place. Umeko quietly sat down and started to eat, while Momoko flipped her hair at Alter-Ego and sat down next to her sister.

"Why is Alter-Ego so identical to you, Papa?" She asked.

"It just is. I was pretty young when I made it and thought it would be funny, I guess," Chihiro laughed awkwardly, eating an orange slice. "If it is really that distracting though, I can easily change its appearance,"

"I'm already on it, Master!" Alter-Ego chimed in from the living room. There was a few seconds of silence before it started talking again. "Do you prefer this design, Master? I know you cannot see me currently, but surely you can recognize who I am by my speech patterns? That is correct, I am currently in the form of that girl you used to fancy when you first started attending Hope's Peak Academy. That world-famous gambler. Celestia Ludenberg. I do wonder what ever became of her,"

Umeko pulled out her tablet as she ate, sketching something on it with her stylus. Her current picture was of her father back when he attended St. Elbandia Academy; wearing a suspender skirt and green jacket. In the picture, he was crying with the character for 'male' written above his forehead. She then glanced up at her father and quickly switched to a new sheet of paper, suddenly afraid of him going through her tablet and finding something humiliating in there like that.

Sayaka finally joined her family at the dining table, pulling off her apron and sitting next to Chihiro, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Alter-Ego sure is excited this morning. And all you did was ask for the weather," She teased.

"It hasn't been used in a while. I say just let it run. It's still gathering information, after all," Chihiro shrugged. Instead of milk, he had a mug of tea, which he sipped quietly.

"I have found an article about her, Master! Would you like me to read it? It is fairly old, but I believe the information is correct. It details her marriage to famous biker Mondo Oowada. But after their marriage, they seemingly vanished off the face of the planet. Is that not strange, Master?" Alter-Ego's Celestia read carefully. "Mayhaps she will attend your party tonight. It might be the first time she has been spotted in public since her marriage,"

"I know I invited Mondo-kun...but I'm not sure about Celestia-chan," Sayaka said to herself. The twins chatted to themselves about what kinds of candy they hoped to get that night before Momoko looked at Sayaka.

"Mama, did you finish making our costumes?" She asked, smiling happily when Sayaka nodded. "Yay! I can't wait for everyone in town to see my costume! I bet they'll find me adorable!"

"There aren't very many children your age in our neighborhood," Chihiro gently reminded her, twirling his spoon around in his tea.

A car honked from outside the house, making the girls jump.

"That must be your bus! Better hurry!" Sayaka reminded them, and the girls nodded and scooped up the rest of their breakfast, hurrying out of the door. Alter-Ego's Celestia curtsied and murmured a polite greeting as they passed by. After they left, Sayaka leaned on Chihiro's shoulder, sipping her own tea silently. Their dining room had a large window right next to a large potted rosebush, and outside that window, she could easily see the yellow-gold trees gently swaying in the fall breeze.

After the two finished eating, Chihiro helped her put away the dishes and smiled at her, still feeling the blueberry muffin warm up his system.

"My blueberry muffin makes the best blueberry muffins!" He smiled, hugging her from behind. Sayaka giggled.

"It takes one to know one!" She gave him another kiss, this time on the lips, then went into the living room, which was all painted in a light shade of blue. "Alter-Ego, what else do we need for the party tonight?"

Alter-Ego blinked, then smiled and transformed itself into the bespectacled Touko, who wrung her hands nervously.

"I-I'm probably not the best source...s-so I dunno why the hell you would ever e-even ask me...b-but...all you have left are the actual preparations. Decorating this filthy house, making your gross food, putting on your dumb costumes..." Alter-Ego Touko trembled slightly, looking away from the couple.

"Oh, so not a lot, it seems! I already called a caterer, she said she'll be here tonight. So let's start decorating this place!" Sayaka grinned, heading upstairs into their attic for the decorations. Chihiro nervously waited at the bottom of the stairs, twirling his engagement ring on his finger. They both wore wedding rings, but only Chihiro wore the diamond ring. He was often teased for that as well, which he actually took issue with. It wasn't his fault he hadn't been the one to propose, and Sayaka decided that whoever proposed, wouldn't wear the ring.

He still remembered that sunny July afternoon, lazing around on a picnic blanket alongside Makoto and his fiancee at the time, Kyoko. Makoto had been anxiously awaiting the engagement of his two best friends, but Chihiro had been nervous for a different reason. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready for marriage. Before he fully had a chance to think about it, Sayaka had gotten down on both knees and slid a velvet box out of her pocket, asking Chihiro to be her husband. Inside was an expensive yet sparkly ring.

Apparently, he had fainted right afterwards.

But the wedding went off without any problems, Chihiro had even worn a suit to it! They were one of the last of their classmates to officially tie the knot, and evidently most of their former classmates had never been seen in the public eye since their wedding. Chihiro always wondered what was up with that.

"Found the decorations!" Sayaka announced, climbing back down the stairs with several big boxes. "Come on! I promise there's nothing spooky in here," She teased, gently setting the boxes down on the floor. "You can get started with the decorations while I get showered and changed, alright?" She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hurried off before he had a chance to respond, making him blush.

He then shrugged it off and rolled up his sleeves, ripping the tape off the first box and finding a lot of wall ornaments and fixture hangings. He pulled those out of the box and started hanging them up around the living room and dining room; really the only two rooms the guests would be allowed to enter aside from the bathroom.

He had gotten almost all of the decorations hung up by the time Sayaka returned, dressed in black pants with an orange turtleneck. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with a bat-shaped ribbon pulling it back. "Oh, you're almost done! That's good!" She praised happily, pulling out the rest of the decorations. "Sure saves me some work!"

"I'm still expecting you to help though, blueberry muffin!" Chihiro pouted lightly. The blue-haired woman laughed.

"I know, bunny! Don't worry!"

Alter-Ego's Touko watched them decorate for a while until eventually realizing its battery was low, and then the hologram vanished into thin air, needing to recharge.

#######

That evening, the twins raced home from school and threw on their costumes; Momoko wearing the blue fairy princess costume while Umeko put on the pink one. They then realized the house was decorated and ran around, cooing over all of the decorations.

"I'm glad you like the work your papa and I did while you were at school!" Sayaka smiled, pushing Chihiro out of their bedroom, dressed in his costume.

"Do you two have your bags? We want to get an early start on Trick-or-Treating since our party starts fairly early too," Chihiro asked, wearing a black suit underneath a pristine white lab coat with oversized goggles on his head and oversized gloves on his hands. His hair stuck out crazily.

"I have mine, Papa," Umeko replied, showing off her light pink grocery bag. Momoko grabbed her own with a nod.

"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" She cheered.

"What are you going as, Papa?" Umeko asked politely, hanging back to walk next to her father.

"Frankenstein! Sayaka-chan thought it was a perfect match for me..." He laughed awkwardly.

"Have a good time Trick-or Treating!" Alter-Ego, now taking the form of Makoto, smiled, waving to Chihiro and the twins as they left the house.

The trio walked along in silence for a while before Momoko spotted their first house, pointing eagerly to it. "Their light is on!" She announced, taking off. Umeko followed after her sister, while Chihiro remained on the steps of the porch. The house's yard was decorated with all sorts of traditional Japanese objects, such as a rock garden. Momoko knocked loudly on the front door, and almost immediately it was opened to reveal a punkish woman decked out in a punkish kimono.

"What's up? Ya'll here for some candy? Ibuki bets you are!" The woman cheered, pulling a bowl of candy out from somewhere behind the door. "Take your pick!" She held the bowl out. In the front window was a tall and buxom blonde woman who was staring irritably at Ibuki. This woman was also dressed in a kimono, but her outfit was light pink and her hair was up in a ponytail.

"Thank you, Miss!" Umeko smiled happily after taking her fill.

"Happy Halloween!" Ibuki waved before shutting the door. The twins ran down the porches and over to the next house, which was smaller than the previous one.

This house was fully decked out for the holiday, having a large graveyard set up in their backyard. Fake spiderwebs hung from the outside windows. Umeko shivered slightly as she knocked on the door, but Chihiro smiled happily. He recognized the house.

"Hello?" A man with white hair asked softly, pulling open the door. "Ah, Trick-or-Treaters. That's nice. Are you fairy princesses?"

"Yup!" Momoko and Umeko replied at the same time. They held out their bags eagerly.

"How cute. I have some candy for you. I think I left the bowl in the kitchen. Let me go get it." The man left the door open as he left, and Chihiro peeked inside the house slightly to see a very neat and orderly living room. A muted horror movie was currently playing on the TV. Next to the door was a formal portrait of a stiffly posing Chiaki, dressed in a nice dress. Her two husbands were leaning on either side of her, also dressed in suits. Her six children were seated at their feet; it was fairly obvious which man fathered which child.

A loud crash distracted Chihiro, and the girls jumped. "Is everything alright in there?" He asked nervously, leaning inside the door slightly.

"Yes! I just...ah, dropped the candy bowl. What a stroke of bad luck for me. But the candy seems to be fine," The man soon returned with two bags of fruit candy, giving each girl one. He then handed one to Chihiro. "The mistress is looking forward to your party tonight,"

"Oh, right! We're looking forward to having her!" Chihiro smiled happily. "Where is she? And her other husband?"

"Out Trick-or-Treating with the kids. But they went to another neighborhood," With that, he shut the door on the family, making them blink in surprise.

The next few houses gave them candy without anything strange happening, and Chihiro started to loosen up slightly. The sun was starting to set, and he knew the colder weather was on its way. He hoped the girls' costumes were thick enough to be warm.

He winced when he recognized the next house on their stop. A few decorated pumpkins were on the house's porch, and a ridiculously fancy sports car was parked in the driveway. He bit his lip as the girls knocked.

"Yo! You lookin' for some candy?" Leon asked cheerfully, opening the door wide open. The girls nodded. "Kaede-chan! Go get the bowl out of the kitchen!" He yelled back into the house, then patted the girls' heads. "What adorable fairies you are! A metaphor for your mother?"

"Hm?"

"Huh?" The girls asked in confusion.

"My best friend! Chihiro-kun! Come here!" Leon grabbed Chihiro by the arm and playfully rubbed his head, giving him a nookie. "How have you been? You haven't been by in like...forever,"

"I've been busy," Chihiro smiled awkwardly. Even now, Leon's huge amount of self-confidence was far too overwhelming. "Are you coming to our party?"

"Hell yeah I'm comin'! If only to get a look at your gorgeous wife. Seriously, how were you able to snag that? I'm jealous, bro. So jealous," He glared slightly at the twins.

"I got the candy!" His wife, a barely-out-of-high-school blonde named Kaede, smiled, a pumpkin-shaped bowl in her hands. She walked over to the door, revealing she was dressed in an extremely-revealing nurse costume. She bent down, her breasts looking ready to slip out of her top.

"Thank you," The twins smiled, each taking a piece of candy. Kaede smiled back, her violet eyes sparkling.

"I'm really excited to be invited to your party, Chihiro-kun!" She addressed him, gasping in surprise when Leon gave her butt a smack. "Oh!"

"See you there, bro!" Leon added, slamming the door shut. Chihiro laughed awkwardly, slowly backing away from the door.

"That guy was strange," Momoko decided once they had left the property.

"You were friends with strange people in high school, Papa," Umeko added.

"He's not that strange," Chihiro reassured them. "He's just way too over-confident for his own good,"

The sun had finally set fully, and he randomly shivered, feeling the temperature drop suddenly. He glanced down at the girls, but for the moment, they seemed to be perfectly fine.

The next few houses they got candy from had nothing out-of-the-ordinary about them, and they were owned by celebrities that had long been forgotten, shoved aside by their younger counterparts. A few commented on how adorable the twins were. Chihiro adjusted the goggles on his head, finding out they were lopsided.

After they had gone down several streets, Chihiro pulled out his phone and showed it to the girls, showing it was nearing eight thirty.

"We have to head home now. But it looks like you girls got a really large haul anyway!" He smiled, and the girls grinned back.

"It's seriously that late though? I feel like we've only been out here for a few minutes!" Momoko asked in disbelief.

"Because we were having fun!" Umeko replied, already heading back to their house. Momoko tried to run off, only to get Chihiro snapping his fingers at her to keep her close by.

They soon arrived back at their house, the living room having been completely transformed into party central. Almost all of the furniture had been moved away to make space for a large dancefloor; a massive DJ booth had been set out. All of the decorations were still hung up, and a makeshift stage had been set up on the other side of the room.

"Whoa, she did all of this...?" Chihiro whispered to himself, in awe. The twins found a couch tucked into a corner and sat on it, already in the process of swapping their candy. Sayaka was nowhere to be seen, so Chihiro assumed she was upstairs changing into her costume. He swallowed nervously, realizing he would have to greet the guests himself.

There was a knock at the door, making Alter-Ego materialize. This time, the program took on the appearance of Chihirio wearing a sexy witch costume. Chihiro opened the door and the program waved happily, greeting the guests.

"Y-You're early! Very early..." Chihiro gasped in surprise, finding the stiff and formal figure of Ishimaru standing in the doorway.

"What about it? It's better to be extremely early than late at all!" His wife, Touko, snapped back suddenly. That edge she still had in high school hadn't worn off.

"You could just show up on time..." Chihiro laughed awkwardly.

The family walked inside the house. It was near-impossible to tell what Ishimaru was dressed as; it seemed as if he just threw a leather jacket on over his regular clothes. Touko was dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, her hair braided neatly and a strong smell of watermelon coming from her. Their daughter, Fumiko, was dressed in an extremely-elaborate kimono; Chihiro later learned she was dressed as one of the main characters from one of her mother's novels. Her dark purple, nearly-black hair was tied up in a fanciful bun, and her red eyes went nicely with her lipstick.

The next pair of guests to arrive were Hajime and Chiaki; dressed as Link and Princess Peach.

"No children?" Chihiro asked in confusion.

"They're too young to be here! So we left them at home with Nagito," Chiaki explained happily.

"Are you sure that was such a good idea...?" He asked nervously.

The caterer showed up, and Chihiro quickly greeted her and led her to the kitchen, giving her the list of food she had to prepare. Why was she so late anyway? He looked around awkwardly when he realized the DJ hadn't shown up either, and the guests were just conversing awkwardly with each other. Where was Sayaka? He really needed her.

The next set of guests to arrive were Makoto and Kyoko with their children, making Chihiro smile. Komaru was there as well, dressed in a light blue ballerina outfit.

"Hey there! We're not too late, are we?" Makoto asked nervously, only to smile when he saw there weren't very many people there yet. "Oh, we seem to be early!" He was dressed as a cowboy, while Kyoko was dressed as a boyish cowgirl. Their daughter was a pirate princess and their son was a knight.

"You're very early. Sayaka-chan isn't even here yet, and this is her party!" Chihiro tried to joke, leading them inside the house.

Asahina arrived shortly afterwards, dressed as Princess Ariel in her pink dress. She waved happily at Chihiro before going over to talk with Makoto and Kyoko. The DJ finally arrived at that point too; Yasuhiro, their old classmate who had somehow acquired a DJing degree at some point in his life. Nonetheless, Sayaka was impressed with his skills and hired him for their party pretty much on the spot. After giving Chihiro a nod, he walked over to the DJ booth and started hooking everything up. He didn't seem to have any costume on, or at least, not one Chihiro could tell.

A few more guests showed up; Ibuki and her wife, Hiyoko, and Leon with his wife, Kaede. Junko and her twin, Mukuro, showed up as well, as well as a few other people Chihiro didn't really recognize. He figured he would have to talk to some of them to keep them entertained while Sayaka continued to remain missing, so he nervously bit his lip and walked over to Ibuki and Hiyoko.

"E-Enjoying the party?" He asked shyly.

"The party just started, dipstick! How can I enjoy something I just arrived to?!" Hiyoko immediately berated. Her kimono was a very soft, silken light pink and cherry blossom branches were in her hair.

"Ibuki is just happy all of her old friends from school are here, like Hajime-chan! She hopes more show up! Sayaka-chan seems to have invited this whole neighborhood, and then some!" The punk-rocker grinned. She was dressed in very dark red and black lace, her Victorian-style skirt ripped up one leg to reveal black combat boots. A black lacy fan was in one of her hands, and a blood-red rose was on the side of her head.

"...What are you dressed as?" He asked, looking it over.

"A punk-style flamenco dancer! Cool, right?"

He nervously willed for Sayaka to hurry up and come back downstairs. There was no way he could deal with all of these people himself.

Mukuro was hanging back from the rest of the crowd, leaning against the wall. She was dressed in an old-fashioned knight outfit. Junko was nowhere to be found. Kaede was conversing with Touko, still in her naughty nurse outfit. Leon was trying to hit on Chiaki, dressed in a baseball outfit.

Celestia arrived almost dead-last, wearing an extremely elaborate ballgown with a lacy parasol. At her side was her husband and servant, Mondo. She hung back from the rest of the party, but Mondo spotted Chihiro and walked over to him, grinning.

"How ya doin', kid? It's been a while huh?" He asked eagerly, giving Chihiro a nookie as well.

"Yeah, it has," Chihiro smiled nicely.

"My wife keeps me locked up in a palace most of the time. Sounds stupid, huh? I don't even know why she wanted to come here, but hey, I ain't complainin',"

"Leon-kun is here too, if you two want to catch up,"

Everyone seemed to be shocked into silence, their attention focused on the top of the stairs. Chihiro looked as well and blushed deeply, his heart in his throat.

At the top of the stairs stood Sayaka, utterly transformed. Her hair was in a bun tied with a huge crown made of silken white feathers, and she had diamond jewelry on. The most breathtaking part of her outfit, however, was the large ballgown she wore, pure white and looked as if it were made from feathers. She walked down the stairs, looking as if she were floating down them instead. She glided over to the DJ booth and picked up a microphone, turning it on and then tapping it.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to my Halloween party! I really appreciate it, especially with how busy I know you guys are. Snacks are in the dining room. The bathroom is two doors down the hall on your right, and at ten PM, we will have a costume contest with a prize for the winner! So cast your votes now for the best costume!" She smiled happily. "Ballots are also in the dining room. Other than that, have fun, and Happy Halloween!" She playfully stuck out her tongue, turning the microphone off and letting the remainder of the party continue.

She then glided over to Chihiro, smiling happily at him. He could feel a lot of jealous eyes on him, belonging to former jealous classmates. For once, he didn't blame them one bit. Sayaka looked ethereal tonight, as if she wasn't from this world.

"Sorry it took so long for me to get dressed. So you like it?" She asked eagerly, twirling around slightly.

"Y-Yeah...you look...so beautiful, blueberry muffin," He answered, numb. She laughed. "What are you?"

"I'm a crane bride! I thought it was obvious! When Makoto-kun saved that crane from the pond, all those years ago. I wanted to be his bride. I wanted to be his crane bride and sew him outfits. But...life doesn't always work out the way you think it should, huh? Instead, I fell in love with you and married you...so now I'm your crane bride," She hugged him tightly. "So don't ever let me go, okay bunny?"

"I won't," Chihiro promised, giving her a kiss. The girls cooed happily at the sight, finding it romantic. Yasuhiro got the message and quickly switched the song to a much-slower one, perfect for slow-dancing. The wives instantly took to the dancefloor, taking their spouses with them, eager for some slow-dancing. Sayaka pulled Chihiro closer to the center of the floor, and he nervously wrapped his hands around her, dancing with her slowly.

It gave him memories of his prom at Hope's Peak; he initially went by himself in a too-tight gown, hanging in the back of the room with all the other losers. Sayaka eventually came up to him-in the same dress as him, nonetheless!-and held her hand out to him, asking him to dance with her. At first he was convinced it was just a trick, but after two other fellow nerds, Souda and Miu, coaxed him, he eventually took her hand and was led onto the dancefloor. Sayaka was the one who had to lead him, but somehow, he knew she was alright with that. She chatted happily to him as they danced, telling him about her friends and her school life in general.

When the dance finished, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and bounced off to go hang out with Makoto and Kyoko some more. He rubbed his cheek, convinced that whole night was a dream. That was when he had officially fallen for the blue-haired idol.

Now, all of those years later, he felt the same awkward giddiness on this dancefloor as he had on that one, dancing in a similar fashion to the woman who was now his lovely wife.

How did he, of all people, ever get so lucky?

After the slow dance, Sayaka kissed him tenderly, running her hand down his face. He blushed heavily and returned the kiss, then they pulled away as the faster music started back up again.

"I'm going to go greet our guests," She told, and he nodded slowly. Then she was gone, and Chihiro was left to wander around, not feeling like dancing anymore.

"Hey, it's the little crossdresser!" Junko said happily, pulling Chihiro into a tight hug. He gasped slightly, feeling suffocated by how big her breasts were. Once she finally let go, he took a deep breath. "Not crossdressing tonight, huh?"

"I-I don't do that anymore..." He blushed. For some odd reason, she was dressed as an angel; a sexy angel, but an angel nonetheless. He recalled seeing one of the girls from Kaede's class dressed as a sexy demon earlier, so maybe they were made to match? He had no idea.

"Awwww, that's a shame. You looked cute like that!" She winked, then walked away. Mondo and Leon quickly took her place though, congratulating Chihiro on how beautiful Sayaka looked in her costume.

"You're pretty lucky, kid. I wish my wife was dressed up." Mondo stated.

"Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it! Bro, did you not see how she kissed him as they danced? I bet there was tongue involved!" Leon crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"There wasn't," Chihiro blushed heavily. Despite his growth spurt, the two still towered over him easily, which wasn't making the conversation any better.

"And you guys call each other nicknames too! So jealous,"

"How did you come up with those nicknames?" Mondo asked, curious.

"She calls me 'bunny' because...I'm soft and small like a little bunny. Plus I love bunnies," Chihiro blushed even more. "And I call her 'blueberry muffin' because she makes amazing blueberry muffins. And...she's got blue hair and is really...thick, like a blueberry muffin,"

"And you get to bang that every single night," Leon finished for him.

"I do not!" Chihiro gasped, really embarrassed. "So...t-tell me about your wives. Especially yours, Leon-kun. She started school when our class were already in our last year of high school,"

"Kaede-chan? Aw, man, she's amazing. She's totally hot for musicians, which is great. Must be the fact she's a pianist or something. Anyway, she's super hot too, and a great listener." Leon explained eagerly.

"You guys got kids yet?" Mondo asked, but Leon shook his head.

"No. For some reason, she doesn't really want 'em. But that doesn't matter, because the sex with her is amazing,"

Chihiro smiled awkwardly.

"My wife don't want kids neither. And she doesn't really seem interested in that...sort of thing. But that's fine. Most of the time, I wait on her hand and foot anyway," Mondo said.

"Sayaka-chan does almost all of the housework around here," Chihiro said. "She wants more kids, but I'm not sure...our daughters are already a bit of a handful. Umeko is a really good artist though. She draws on a virtual tablet. And Momoko really loves music. We have bets that when they attend Hope's Peak Academy, they'll be the Ultimate Digital Artist and Ultimate Electronic Music Maker!"

"What is he doing here?!" Touko screeched from somewhere near the front door, and Chihiro winced.

"Dear, please calm yourself. You're causing a ruckus," Ishimaru tried to console her, but Touko shook him off. She pointed in anger at a party guest who was currently leaning against the wall, a bored expression on his face. Sayaka walked over to dispel the chaos, only to notice who the person was.

"Byakuya-kun?" She asked in surprise. "Why are you here?"

Byakuya briefly glanced at her, then went back to looking at the front door.

"H-He's here to bother everyone else. I thought I could have a good night...but then he showed up!" Touko continued to carry on.

Junko laughed from somewhere in the crowd.

"Touko-chan? Please calm down," Chiaki asked softly, walking over to her.

"He is just here to crash the party. Which I admire. If I was not invited, I think I would have done the same," Celestia chuckled. "Still, it makes little sense to lose your head over it,"

"Hey, are you guys ready to rock?" Momoko perked up, running behind Yasuhiro's DJ booth. "I got something I think everyone will love!" She twirled a record around on her finger, then slid it down onto the player and put the scratcher on it. A remix of a classic Halloween song started to play. She flipped her hair with a smirk. "Do you guys like it?"

"Yeah! Come on, Hiyoko-chan! Ibuki wants to dance again!" Ibuki dragged her blonde wife onto the dancefloor, ignoring her complaints. Still, it seemed she didn't care very much, as she started to dance just as energetically as Ibuki was.

"And you can come up on-stage and tell everyone what you are dressed as! The costume contest will be starting soon," Sayaka quickly added over the noise.

Chiaki happily grabbed Hajime's hand and pulled him onto the stage, nervously adjusting the microphone.

"I am Chiaki Hinata-Komaeda, and I am dressed as Princess Peach!" She announced happily.

"I'm Hajime Hinata, and I'm dressed as Link," Hajime added quickly, then the two walked off the stage. Soon, a large crowd of people had formed a line near the stage, seemingly all excited to show off their costumes to everyone.

"I'm Aoi Asahina, and I'm dressed as Princess Ariel!" Asahina curtsied lightly.

"I'm Junko Enoshima, and I'm dressed as a sexy angel!" Junko winked at the crowd.

"My name is Komaru Naegi. I'm just a ballerina," She twirled around on her tiptoes.

"I'm T-Touko Ishimaru, and I'm Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Obviously," Touko blinked, then simply walked off the stage without another word.

"I am Hiyoko Saionji! I am dressed as the princess of cherry blossoms and volcanoes!" Hiyoko cheered, covering her mouth with her long kimono sleeve.

"I'm Makoto Naegi. I'm dressed as a cowboy," Makoto laughed awkwardly, pretending to shoot a gun at Kyoko. She stood there without much expression on her face, blinking.

"My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru! This year, I tried to dress as the scariest thing I could think of...an old classmate of mine who was a huge rebel! See the leather jacket?" He posed, but everyone remained either silent or confused. Chihiro face-palmed.

"I'm Miu Iruma, and I'm dressed as an extremely hot and sexy devil!" Miu posed sexily. Ah, so there was the devil girl.

"Kaede Kuwata here! I'm dressed as the nurse from the movie Kill Bill!"

"I'm Fumiko Ishimaru, and I am dressed as Aiko from a novel Mother wrote. That novel is called Whispers by the Moonlight." Fumiko explained, walking off the stage.

"I'm Tanya Tanaka, and I'm dressed in my mother's traditional clothes!" A black-haired girl curtsied politely, dressed in traditionally embroidered clothes. Chihiro blinked. He didn't recall that girl or her parents coming in at all.

"I-I'm Chihiro Fujisaki...I'm dressed as Doctor Frankenstein," He explained, being the last one to go up on-stage. He then bowed nervously and walked off.

At that point, a freckled redhead dressed in short-shorts and a sweater vest arrived, taking photos of the party for the tabloids.

"All of your costumes are great! I can't wait to see who wins the costume contest!" Sayaka smiled.

Umeko hadn't moved from the couch for the entire party. She had taken out her pink tablet and was drawing on it with her stylus, briefly looking up. She was drawing profiles of the party guests in their costumes. She had to keep erasing or crossing out a lot of her work because of how fast the guests moved.

Chihiro went into the dining room, getting a can of soda and pulling the top of it open. He drank from it heavily, downing it in just a few seconds. He shuddered from the carbonation and burped just as Chiaki walked into the room. She picked up a small hotdog and started to eat it slowly.

"Hi Chihiro-kun!" She greeted nicely, and he smiled back eagerly at her. "Who do you think will win the costume contest?"

"I don't know...probably Sayaka-chan. She's definitely the most beautiful girl here," He blushed.

"You're just saying that because she's your wife!" She laughed. "I think Komaru-san should win. I don't know why, but I like her outfit. Everyone else looks good, but their costumes are overly complex. I think a simpler one should win," She polished off her hot dog and got a beer out of the fridge, taking a small sip.

Byakuya walked into the dining room at that moment, noticing the two in the room. His face turned up and he started to leave, only to be stopped by Chihiro.

"Wait! Byakuya-san...why are you here?" He asked nervously.

Even now, Byakuya still intimidated him. They spent their time in school avoiding the other, and Chihiro was all-too-happy about it. To him, the guy seemed to be hiding some sort of aggression below the surface, one that he would gladly act upon if given the chance. He seemed like the kind of person to walk into a crime scene and mess it up just for his own amusement.

"None of your business," Byakuya replied sharply, glaring at Chihiro. Chihiro nearly whimpered, but bit his lip. He stood up straighter.

"Why did you crash my party? You know Sayaka-chan would've invited you if you wanted to come. She invited Celestia-chan, of all people!"

Byakuya remained silent, staring down at the floor.

"Are you...lonely? Is that why you came? You wanted to see all of us again," Chihiro finally realized, putting a hand on his heart. "You're just lonely,"

"As if. I'm not lonely in the slightest. I just wanted to see how the two fashion disasters were getting along. Quite well, it seems. Good for you. Now I'm leaving," Byakuya scoffed, finally leaving the dining room. Chihiro hurried after him, watching the man shove several party-goers out of his way as he headed for the front door. He shut it with a loud slam.

"J-Jackass..." Touko muttered, trembling. "I can't believe I ever saw anything in him when we were younger..."

"Byakuya-san..." Chihiro blinked, somehow feeling sorry for the man. He turned back around and went into the kitchen, finding Chiaki and Hajime conversing with each other as they both sipped beers.

"Come on, bro, have some! It's a party!" Leon wrapped his arm around Chihiro from behind, holding out a beer for him. Chihiro glanced back at Mondo, who was standing in the doorway. He shook his head at him. Chihiro then glanced back at Leon, who was still grinning. Chihiro grabbed the beer from the redhead and downed it in just one drink, burping really loudly. "Now you're talking! Have another!"

The brunete smiled lightly and started to drink any can of beer that came his way, at first not wanting to be rude but then gradually getting into it. After his eighth, he was absolutely wasted, giggling drunkenly.

"I misshed hanging out with you guysh shoooo much! Ohgmigosh! We're such best bros! Wanna take a Selfie? A drunken Selfie?" He slurred in a high-pitched voice, pulling out his green dell-phone. Leon dragged Mondo into the picture and the three posed with huge grins on their faces. Chihiro flashed a peace-sign as he took the picture. It wasn't out of focus, amazingly. "We look sho good! I'm gonna go find my wife," He left the dining room, having to lean against the couch to catch his breath.

Everything seemed like it was spinning! And the music was so loud! But that just made it even more fun, in his opinion!

"Sayaka-chan! Ohmigosh, where are you? Sayaka-chan!" He yelled over the music, not about to move from his spot. Umeko leaned away from her dad, looking nervous.

"Papa, you reek of beer," She commented. "Mama will punish you when she finds out,"

"I'm not schared of her! I'm a man! I can handle it!" Chihiro rolled his eyes, walking off. His goggles had become lopsided again, but he hadn't even noticed.

"Alright everyone, time to announce the winners of the costume contest!" Sayaka announced happily, standing next to the DJ booth. She pulled out three different slips of paper. "The winner for the males is...Hajime Hianata! Please get up onstage!"

Everyone applauded for the muscular brunete, who anxiously walked up on stage. He then stood there with a determined expression on his face, genuinely surprised he won.

"And the winner of the childrens' contest is...Fumiko Ishimaru!"

Everyone applauded again for the sullen girl, who nodded politely and walked up on stage. She folded her hands in front of herself politely.

"And the winner of the female contest is...oh! It's me!" Sayaka read in surprise, blushing lightly. "Well, thank you everyone!" She gave the microphone back to Yasuhiro and hurried up on the stage herself, waving to everyone.

"Ah, I think she deserved to win," Chiaki explained happily to Ibuki and Hiyoko, cheeks blushed pink from the alcohol. "Her costume is definitely the prettiest. And Hajime won too!"

Sayaka soon stepped off the stage. There was only an hour left in the party and it showed no signs of winding down anytime soon. She found her daughters and helped them gather up their candy bags.

"Bedtime for you two," She scolded lightly.

"Awww, but tomorrow's Saturday! Can't we please stay awake?" Momoko asked nicely.

"We won't be able to sleep with all of this noise anyway," Umeko looked up briefly from her tablet.

"I won't have you two ruining your schedules. Off to bed. I can move Alter-Ego into your rooms to read you a bedtime story," Sayaka stated, grabbing the laptop from next to the door and walking down the hallway into the girls' room.

The two shared a bedroom, and one side was all in purple and the other in pink. She placed the laptop in the middle of the room, making Alter-Ego materialize in there.

"That tickled. Mistress! Your fingers are really delicate!" It giggled.

After Sayaka closed their bedroom door, she went back into the party, finding Leon trying to drunkingly hit on Mukuro while Kaede looked on in horror and Junko laughed manically about it. Most of the guests were still dancing on the dancefloor, while the redheaded photographer snapped shots of everything she found interesting or buzzworthy.

"Hiiiii Sayaka-chan!" Chihiro hugged Sayaka from behind happily, smiling. Sayaka winced at how much he reeked of beer.

"You're drunk, bunny," she scolded, gently pulling him off of her.

"Just a lil' tiny bit, blueberry muffin! Wanna have shome 'fun'? On the dancefloor? I want everyone to be shoooo shuper jealoush of my hot wife!"

Sayaka pulled Chihiro into the dining room and sat him down at the table, turning on the coffee machine and starting to make some coffee.

"Get away from me!" Asahina yelled in annoyance, shoving Leon off of her. He slammed into the TV, knocking one of the decorations off it and making it shatter on the floor. "I don't wanna get with you!"

"Fuckin' bitch," Leon grumbled, standing up. He picked up another decoration and tried to throw it at her, but she darted off too quickly. Instead, he threw the decoration at Mukuro, who dodged it and threw a knife at him in response. The knife lodged itself into the TV.

"Come on, guys, let's not get into a huge fight over this. This isn't our house, first of all," Makoto instantly stepped in, helping Leon to his feet.

"My, my," Celestia tittered, having the time of her life.

"It's not my fault she's such a lesbian. Who doesn't wanna get with all of this?" Leon mumbled.

"You've had way too much to drink, Leon-kun. Why don't you just find your wife and go home," Mondo suggested.

"So now you're trying to take control of my life? I don't need that, you biker weirdo,"

"He's right. Let's just go home," Kaede suggested, looking nervous. Her purple eyes shimmered.

"Fine. But I wanna tell my best friend goodbye before we go,"

"Send it to him in an email," She grabbed Leon's hand a bit rough, grabbing the party favour with her name on it by the door and darting off.

Sayaka finished making the coffee and handed the mug to Chihiro, heading back into the living room. She gasped when she saw the knife in the TV.

"What happened? Who did this?" She demanded.

"Oh, what lovely despair you just missed out on!" Junko chuckled, hugging herself. "My sister threw that knife at your expensive television set because a drunk Leon-san tried to throw something at her!"

Asahina was walking out the door as well, and Chiaki had fainted on the floor, her skirt riding up. Hajime scooped her up and carried her princess-style in his arms, picking up their favours.

"Hopefully our house hasn't burned down," He mumbled to himself as he left.

Sayaka went back into the dining room and found Chihiro halfway done with the coffee. The blush on his cheeks had diminished somewhat. He wiggled and squirmed around, making her sigh.

"I'm ending the party early and sending all of these people home. Leon-san almost got in a huge drunken fight," She explained, knowing he likely wouldn't even process what she said. He was pretty far gone himself.

"Can I phlease use the toilet? I feel like I'm drowning!" He asked, and she nodded.

"Come right back here when you're done though, bunny," After he raced off, she went back into the living room and turned the microphone on.

"Thank you all for coming out to my Halloween party! We all had fun, didn't we? Anyway, I'm ending the party early. Have a good rest of your night, and don't forget to grab your party favour by the door," She smiled happily.

The photographer positioned herself by the door, ready and eager to take pictures of the people leaving.

"Good on you for ending it before anything really bad happened," Ishimaru praised her, pulling Touko close to him. The bookworm grimaced slightly, looking at her daughter.

"I got our favours, Mother," Fumiko said, handing her parents their bags. "I think it has candy and jewelry inside,"

"This party was soooo funny! All those drunken people? Crazy!" Hiyoko laughed, taking her own bag. "If only a fight really did break out!"

Mondo and Celestia left without a word.

"Thank you so much for inviting us," Makoto smiled happily at Sayaka, who smiled back. "Kyoko-chan enjoyed it, Komaru enjoyed it, our kids enjoyed it, and of course I had fun,"

"I'm glad! I'm going to do this next year too!"

"No alcohol this time," Kyoko stated, making Sayaka laugh awkwardly.

That family left, and Yasuhiro finished packing up his equipment. He gave a grin to Sayaka, saying he'd send her the bill in the morning, then left. Junko and Mukuro left as well, leaving only a few of the students that Sayaka figured were invited by other people, as she didn't recognize them.

Chihiro then walked into the room, stumbling over to her. He accidentally dropped the mug on the floor, gasping when it shattered.

"Oh no, I broke your mug. You hate me," He pouted childishly. Sayaka had to hold back a chuckle.

"I'm not upset. Just go to bed. The party is over, the girls are in bed, you're drunk...and my dress is too tight," She stared at the photographer, who was busy taking pictures of the trashed house.

"Sayaka-chan..." He slurred, hugging her tightly. "I love you. You are the besht thing to ever happen to me. I'm glad you find crossdressers shexy,"

"Now's not the time for this, bunny. Go to bed," She smiled nervously, trying to peel him off of her.

"Sayaka-chan...I-I..." His face turned a light green, making Sayaka move away from him in a panic.

"Wait, Chihiro-kun-!"

The vomit hit her gown.

The camera went off.

###########

Sayaka stepped out of her limo, pulling off her sunglasses. She was dressed for the colder weather in a fancy white trenchcoat and light pink pants and black boots. She didn't even need the sunglasses, they were just a force of habit from her younger idol days. Back then, she was paranoid of being found out in public. Now, she could care less if her fans saw her. "I hope we can actually get some shopping done today. That caterer used up almost all of our food," She explained, helping the twins out of the limo.

Momoko was dressed in a striped purple sweater with a purple jumper dress on over it, white tights, and purple boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail. Umeko was dressed the same, except in pink. Chihiro came out of the car last, dressed in a dark blue business suit. He nervously hid his face from some of the paparazzi that had gathered, clamoring to see if Sayaka looked hung-over at all.

"Can we get some snacks too, Mama?" Momoko instantly asked.

"But you just got all of that candy last night!" Sayaka teased, gently rubbing the girl's head. The family continued to walk, ignoring the pictures being taken of them.

"Look!" Umeko pointed out, running over to a newsstand. She pulled the newest magazine off the rack, holding it up in front of her face. "It's about the party you threw last night!"

"'Spooky Party Turns into a Disaster'," Sayaka read out-loud, laughing. "It's not the catchiest headline,"

"Ugh, I'm on the cover," Chihiro winced, covering up his face in embarrassment. "It probably details how drunk I was,"

"You always seem to end up on the covers of magazines, Papa," Momoko pointed out, shrugging. "Both for good and bad reasons,"

Chihiro continued to hide his face. "I-I want to borrow your sunglasses,"

Sayaka handed them to him and he slipped them on. She put the magazine back in the rack.

"I probably look hung-over too, so at least these hide my gross-looking eyes," He blinked. "I haven't drunken that much since our graduation party..."

The redheaded photographer walked past the couple, grinning.

"Men will be men," She said simply, noticing Sayaka still staring at the cover. "But your party looked like fun. I put almost my entire roll in this month's issue. I just couldn't decide which picture I liked best!"

"It _was_ rather fun, I have to admit," Sayaka smiled.

"Next year, you think I can be invited? I'll take more flattering pics," The photographer promised. She pulled out her camera. "How about I take another one, just for the road?"

"Sure!" Sayaka pulled Chihiro into a tight hug, while he pulled the sunglasses up onto his forehead. The two twins posed; Momoko with her hands on her hips and Umeko with her hands folded in front of her. The photographer snapped the picture.

"Thanks guys!" She smiled. "See you next Halloween!" With that, she walked off, and the Fujisaki family walked into the store, determined to continue with their daily errands.

#######

Sayaka's party was easily the talk of the town for many months. She smiled when it was finally the next year and Halloween was in a few more days.

"Do you think we can beat last year's party, bunny?" She eagerly asked Chihiro. "I won't be able to dance as much this year," She motioned to her large belly, a baby bump.

"Ugh, the guys will be even more jealous of me!" Chihiro pouted, closing his laptop.

Sayaka chuckled. "No alcohol this year!"

"No alcohol, blueberry muffin," Chihiro agreed, running after her to help her prepare for the party.


	2. A Very Lonely Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas is always a very busy time for Chihiro, the part-time husband and full-time servant to Celestia. Everything must be picture-perfect to satisfy the mistress of the house. Still, despite living a life of literal luxury and comfort, Chihiro finds himself lonely year after year with nobody to spend Christmas with. He wants to find some way to break the monotonous cycle of staged perfection, but who will rescue the damsel in distress that they can't even find, or even know is in danger? 
> 
> Ships: CelestiaxChihiro; MahiruxHiyoko, KaedexShuichi, KomaruxTouko, MiuxSouda, LeonxIbuki, SoniaxChiaki, MondoxIshimaru, MakotoxSayaka, NagitoxMikan, HajimexAkane

Chihiro stirred from his deep slumber with a slight groan. He rolled over in bed and slowly opened his eyes, finding the ethereal and gorgeous form of his wife, Taeko, fast asleep next to him. She was still Taeko, and would be until he actually got up from the bed, in which case she would be referred to as Celestia.

He finally sat up in bed with a wince and another groan. He still felt incredibly sore from Taeko's latest escapades with him the previous night. He knew that would be no excuse though, so with another wince, he very slowly pulled himself out of bed and took a long bubble bath, relaxing and preparing himself for the day's events.

The window in their bedroom had been frosted over with a large layer of snow, and it was still coming down heavily when he got out of the bath. The scene resembled something from a Victorian storybook; the snow looked as if it were forged from sugar itself. Little tiny flakes spiraled around outside. If Taeko were awake, she would be delighted by the sight, Chihiro knew. Just looking outside was making him feel giddy and excited in anticipation of what the current day was.

He opened up his wardrobe and looked longingly at his fancy suit, but clenched his fists.

That was for tonight, he tried to tell himself as he pulled out a basic and plain black butler suit from the hanger. He slipped it on, feeling the smooth fabric hug his body. The suit was a dark black Victorian-style butler outfit, complete with white gloves. His tie was red, a stable of Taeko's personal servants, and he also wore a black headband adorned with white plastic roses.

He took one final look at Taeko, still sound asleep in bed. Her hair was short and looked lovely. He longed to crawl back into bed with her, to share in her warmth, and feel her run her hands down his body.

But right now, he was no longer her husband, Chihiro Fujisaki, he was her head butler and personal servant, Vincent Ludwig Ludenberg. Or Serenity Bavaria on the very rare occasion he was forced to play her personal maid when guests came over.

A _very_ rare occasion.

Chihiro headed down the grand staircase, finding a few of the butlers already awake despite the early hour. He simply snapped his fingers at them, silently indicating that Celestia was still asleep and that they needed to hurry to finish the last-minute preparations.

It was finally the day of the family's favourite holiday, Christmas, or, as Celestia vastly preferred to call it, Yule. The tree in the middle of the living room looked ready to burst from all of the presents stuffed underneath it. The dinner was in the final stages of cooking. But there were still a few preparations to be made here and there. After all, everything had to be absolutely perfect.

As the butlers bustled around, Chihiro elbowed a nearby wall and a flat-screen TV popped out over the fireplace, already turned onto the news. He blinked, trying to re-adjust himself into hearing Japanese after speaking nothing but French and German for...how long had it been now? Seventeen years? He was literally locked up away from the world and was barely allowed most electronics, so it was anyone's guess. But seventeen years sounded about right.

"Good morning and Merry Christmas everyone! I am your host, Mahiru Saionji!" The freckled redhead grinned happily into the camera. Her outfit was a bright yellow kimono with fur attached; it was patterned with chicks. "We're here with just a few of today's most buzz-worthy celebrities! They're going to talk with us about some of their latest projects!" The camera panned over to show a few couples sitting on velvet red couches, all dressed up in their best outfits.

The first couple was of a blonde woman and a very shy and nervous-looking young man; he had a green cap covering up his eyes half of the time. The woman introduced herself as Kaede Saihara and spoke at length about the charity events she played at over the previous week. The next couple was made up of Komaru Naegi and her wife, both dressed in matching blue coats. Her wife was Touko, who wore her hair braided down her back. The last two couples he didn't recognize at all, and finally turned the TV off and hid it again when he heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Mistress Celestia," He begun, only to smile nicely when he recognized the figure who had finished climbing down the stairs.

She had piercing red eyes and snowy-white skin; however, her hair was springy and curly and a light healthy shade of blonde-brown. Her gown was made to resemble a Queen of Spades gown, all in black and purple. She towered over Chihiro, but he knew by now it was only her massive heeled shoes.

"Kiyomi! Good morning! Did you want to eat breakfast, or wait for your mother to wake up so we can all open presents together?" Chihiro asked her, though the girl wandered into the living room, paying him no mind. He simply followed her, his hands folded in front of himself politely. "Kiyomi. Did you want to open presents first? Because if you do, you'll have to wait for your mother to wake up first," He continued to scold, wincing when the girl shot him a death glare. She started to lift her finger, and Chihiro winced even more, suddenly realizing his mistake.

He sighed and bowed. "Lady Henrietta, if you wish to open up your presents so early in the morning, I will not stop you. After all, I am just a servant. However, I would recommend you eat breakfast first and open them later so Mistress Celestia may also see what you have received,"

"Stop talking so familiarly to your masters," Henrietta responded instead, smiling sweetly. "It is very impolite and indecent, would you not agree? I have talked for years to Mother about getting rid of you...but alas, I am always unsuccessful. I do not know why. Clearly she does not love you, Vincent,"

Chihiro simply turned from the room, heading up the stairs to Henrietta's room. He was getting sick of being berated by his family. If Celestia wasn't ordering him around, then it was their only child, Henrietta. At first he had loved the girl, and a part of him still did, but most of the time he longed to do nothing more but to slap her harshly.

But he would not do that. He was, after all, just a lowly servant, and servants did not lay hands on their masters or mistresses. Not unless they wanted to get fired, or worse, executed.

He pulled open the door to Henrietta's room, a bedroom that was draped in blood-reds and deep violets, smiling to himself when he noticed how clean it was. He noticed the picture on her desk and walked over to it, picking it up. It must've been a new one, as he hadn't seen it before.

It was of Henrietta standing in a dark purple lolita dress similar to her mother's famous one, having a strained smile on her face. Pulling her into a tight hug was a blonde with a huge grin on her face and short-shorts. He recognized her as Sonya Souda, the daughter of two fellow nerds from his high-school days. She was the Ultimate Car Engineer...or something like that.

"Father! I was not expecting to see you in here today! Did my lady do a good job with the cleaning?" A girlish, robotic voice squealed, and Chihiro nodded, putting the picture back on the desk. He turned around to see himself greeted with the face of his daughter, now dressed in an old-fashioned maid dress.

Except it was just a robot maid she had created in her personal likeness. She had programmed it to cook and clean and take care of her pet, an ornery kitten named Lucille, one of the many children of Celestia's own cat.

"Yes, she did. Do you have anything else you need to attend to?" He asked curiously, but the robot shook its head.

Chihiro checked some of the other rooms, not finding anything of interest. He then sighed and went back into the kitchen, finding the butlers in there hard at work on preparing that night's dish; roast duck.

"Vincent." A cool voice reached his ears, and he spun around and felt his whole face heat up in a blush.

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen was his mistress and wife, the lovely and terrifying Celestia Ludenberg. She had gotten dressed up in an outfit that resembled one Marie Antoinette wore in her youth; all powdered blue and lacy. She motioned for him to come closer, and he nervously did so, wondering what was on her mind.

"Did you tell Retta it was time to open presents?" She asked smoothly, smiling her usual sweet smile.

"No. In fact, I told her to wait and eat breakfast until you came downstairs because I knew you wanted to watch her, Mistress Celestia," Chihiro explained in a low tone of voice, giving her a bow.

"Good. Then follow me to the living room. Dispose of any and all wrapping paper," She left the kitchen, and after another bow, Chihiro hurried after her, being forced to stand in the corner of the room as Henrietta and Celestia eagerly opened up their multitude of presents.

The living room was a light gold colour and was decorated in red and green garlands for the holiday. The marble fireplace crackled warmly, and outside the snow continued to fall. Chihiro shivered as he watched the two open their presents, cooing in delight. The tree was large and went to the ceiling, covered in popcorn, glass balls, stars, and of course, candles.

"How odd, you got a present this year. Normally servants do not get presents," Celestia spoke in obvious confusion, handing a small yellow envelope to Chihiro. He instantly perked up, already knowing what was inside and getting excited.

Despite their remote location in Scotland, every other Christmas, Chihiro's old classmates would send him postcards, cards, or letters, generally wishing him well and hoping they could see him again some day. Celestia usually threw them away after Christmas was over, and he swallowed nervously. He tore open the envelope and tightly held the cards to his body, already feeling warmed by their presence.

The first card was from Leon and his girlfriend, Ibuki; the picture featured them posing with electric guitars and sticking out their tongues. Leon was flipping off the camera and Ibuki had her two arms crossed, her fingers in the 'rock on' gesture.

The next card was from Sonia and Chiaki, both dressed in virginal white nightgowns with flower wreaths and candles on their foreheads. Their hands had been clasped together and they were facing each other, eyes closed. It was a holiday similar to Christmas that Sonia celebrated in her nation, he recalled Chiaki telling him once. The two girlfriends looked like pure, gentle angels and all they were missing was a stained-glass window.

The next was from Mondo and Ishimaru, who both sported huge grins on their faces that even managed to affect Chihiro, grinning back at the picture. The two were dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, but Mondo had added a bit of 'flair' to his own outfit with his usual leather jacket. Chihiro could only imagine the scolding he was in for once the picture was taken and Ishimaru realized what had happened.

The last one was already his favourite. It showed Makoto and Sayaka wearing very fancy outfits, their five-year-old daughter seated inbetween them and smiling widely. Their daughter had spiky brown hair and green eyes, and her name was Hikari; a perfect name for a child of Makoto.

After flipping through the cards for a few more minutes, Chihiro was startled by Celestia standing up and clasping her hands together.

"I think now would be a lovely time for breakfast," She said to herself, but Henrietta nodded in agreement. They left the living room together, leaving a huge mountain of wrapping paper in their wake. Chihiro's face fell in horror. He snapped his fingers, and soon his daughter's robot maid wheeled herself into the room and perked up, excited by the idea of cleaning something.

##########

After eating a measly breakfast with the other butlers, Chihiro felt worn-out. He had barely done anything that day and yet he was already exhausted. Celestia and Henrietta had gone out for a walk in the snow, promising they would be back by dinner. He had no idea if they meant that or not, but was glad he got to sit down for once.

He slumped down on one of the many couches in the living room, sighing and keeping his shoes off the furniture. He glanced up at the exquisitely-drawn portraits above his head. One was of Celestia, looking like the scary goddess she was; her smile showed coldness, while her eyes showed cleverness. One was of himself, looking proud in his pose but nervous in his eyes. And then the final one was of Henrietta, posing with her kitten Lucille in her arms and mimicking the same emotions on her person as her mother.

How did things end up going so wrong? He remembered when he attended Hope's Peak Academy, Celestia was the girl he admired from afar, finding her to be extremely beautiful but utterly unattainable. Unlike some of his female classmates, like Sayaka, she never seemed to have a large amount of male attention, but he got the feeling she secretly liked it that way. The two's paths never crossed, they had no reason to-until one faithful day when they were both in gym class together and someone had shoved Celestia into him, making her grab his crotch by accident. The smirk she gave him after she felt what she felt made him shiver.

For the remainder of their time in school together, he had become her own personal servant; refusal would've resulted in his secret getting spilled. He was terrified from that idea and agreed to her demands. He had to wait on her hand-and-foot, but none of the guys were too jealous. In fact, most pitied him. He couldn't blame them, he pitied himself too for getting himself into that situation.

She drilled him in everything; fashion, manners, speaking, walking, talking. He had to learn French, English, German, and even Italian and half the time he felt as though his brain would explode. She forced him to wear gothic lolita suits out in public, making him tremble and bite his lip as everyone wondered why 'she' suddenly looked so boyish.

They went to prom together, her in a blood-red gown complete with a veil, and him in a black dress detailed with white roses that made him feel like he was attending a funeral. She ended up spending her entire night standing on the sidelines, watching everyone else dance, forcing Chihiro to stand and watch alongside her.

The two shared their first kiss at the afterparty graduation. She randomly pulled Chihiro away from Leon and Mondo and kissed him deeply on the lips. She even inserted her tongue, which he nearly choked on in surprise the first time. But her kiss had tasted of chocolate and strawberry, and she smelled of the most expensive and feminine perfume, and in that moment, Chihiro had believed himself to be lucky.

He remained her servant even after they went their separate ways. She introduced him to even more pleasures than just kissing, pleasures he had no idea even existed. Almost all of his nights ended up with him being sore, but somehow, he didn't mind. He didn't even mind when she called him in a panic one faithful day, screeching on the phone about how she was pregnant and how she knew it was his and how she wanted him to take responsibility for it. He moved to Scotland a few days later and they were married in a wedding that was an exact remake of Queen Victoria's own wedding. Only Makoto came out of kindness.

And then, their daughter, Kiyomi, was born. She was seventeen and was the Ultimate Robotist. The couple rarely saw her aside from holidays due to spending most of her time at Hope's Peak Academy. A few times she had gotten suspended and sent home for a day or two, and it was always the same thing; refusal to wear the school's uniform or cussing out other students. Once she got in trouble for hacking into the school's computer system in an attempt to change both her and Sonya's grades. That was one of the few times Chihiro recalled being proud of her rather than cross with her.

Everything should've been perfect. He had a beautiful and rich wife, a talented young daughter who had already changed the world of robots as the world knew it, a large castle with servants that obeyed his every whim, and his own personal collection of A.I.s to work on so boredom would never strike. His life should've been perfect.

Yet, somehow, he felt lonely. He felt more alone in these seventeen years, shut up in a castle, than he ever had in the entire rest of his life combined.

########

One of the butlers had spotted Celestia and Henrietta returning home from their walk, making Chihiro nod and hurry up the stairs. He peeled off his butler outfit and threw on his other outfit; an extremely lacy gothic lolita suit that looked like a male version of Celestia's old dress from her high school days. A long lacy train had been attached to the back of the suit, making it drag on the floor. That part resembled a skirt. On top of his head was a small black tophat. He rubbed his lips slightly in the mirror, then went back downstairs, smiling and taking Celestia's hand as she walked into the house.

"Welcome home, Lady Wife," He greeted politely in French. Celestia smiled back.

"And to you too, Sir Husband,"

He led her to the dining table and the two sat across from each other, their daughter sitting in the middle.

"How was your walk?" He asked curiously as they were served.

"It was very pleasant. Nobody was out due to the weather, which was the best part. Retta and I were free to do as we pleased and walked where we pleased. Nobody judged us," She rested her hands on her chin and tilted her head with a smile on her face.

"I saw some man out walking a large dog. He gave us a glare as we walked past. He seemed to have a bunch of hamsters in his pockets. Is that not queer?" Henrietta said, looking down at her silver silverware.

"Quite queer," Chihiro simply nodded, having no idea what to say to that. Their food was finally done and Chihiro started to eat after Celestia dug in, taking very dainty bites. He stole glances at Celestia every so often, finding her silence to be maddening. Not even Henrietta spoke. He found himself wishing that his friends could've been there with them, eating the feast and livening up the atmosphere.

He pictured Sonia and Chiaki sitting next to him, whispering to each other about how much the food differed from Novoselic food. Leon and Ibuki would be seated in the middle, across from Henrietta, playing footsie underneath the table and feeding each other bites of their food. Mondo and Ishimaru would be on the other side, having a very heated conversation about sports. And of course Makoto and Sayaka would be seated next to Celestia, keeping the conversation happy and going. Their daughter would swing her legs under the table, a large bow in her hair to match her clothes.

The wind howled outside, making Chihiro shiver uncontrollably. The fire roared louder in the fireplace beside them. He longed for warmth of companionship. He longed for his friends and family to be there, spending Christmas with him.

He finally realized that after all these years, they were the lucky ones.

He was the damsel in distress, waiting for a knight to rescue him that would never come.

########

After dinner, Henrietta retreated to the living room, lying on the rug and playing with Lucille, tossing a cat toy around for her to chase. Celestia sat on the couch, sitting up straight and reading some Germanic romance novel. Chihiro turned his nose up at the scene before he could stop himself. He stared at Celestia as she read, feeling his desire for her start to build up again. With how much they had sex, he ended up getting addicted to it, in a sense, and often needed to do it every night to be stimulated. He stared at her breasts in particular, wanting her to just take her entire outfit off. It was already so low-cut anyway.

"Lady Wife?" He asked nervously, rubbing his ankles together. He tried a few more times, but she didn't respond.

Eventually he just went back upstairs, retreating to his bedroom and pulling a sleek red laptop out from under the bed. He sat down on the bed, crosslegged ,and turned the laptop on, sighing when a familiar smiling face greeted him.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Master! How may I serve you today?" Alter-Ego asked eagerly. Chihiro hadn't been able to work on the program as much as he had liked, so it was still fairly primitive, at least in his mind. Still, it was a worthy companion to talk to when he was bored or lonely...if he pushed the fact that it only interacted with humans for information out of his mind.

"...Can you please...turn into Lady Wife for me...? I-I'm really desperate..." He blushed heavily, hiding his face in embarrassment.

"Of course, Master!" Alter-Ego smiled, and within a few seconds, had transformed into the handsome adult Celestia. "This form, Sir Husband? Or perhaps I can turn into how we looked back when we attended Hope's Peak. The choice is all yours. Tonight, I am completely at your mercy," She all but purred. Chihiro blushed even more.

"You're really getting too good at this, Alter-Ego..." He mumbled in embarrassment, pulling off some of the buttons on his shirt.

##########

After satisfying himself to Alter-Ego's personification, he let the program run as he got dressed again and picked up the phone. He intended to call the friends who sent him those cards and just give them a simple thanks, though most of them didn't even pick up the phone.

He clenched his fists. He expected that, yet it still saddened him. He pulled a chair up by the window and glanced out the window at the falling snow, biting his lip. He continued trying to call people.

"Yo, what's up, shrimpy?" Miu's boisterous voice filled his ears, making him wince. "Having a good Christmas? How's your little sperm juice? She doin' well? Sonya won't stop talking about her, I swear! Every other minute, it's 'Henrietta this, Henrietta that'!"

Chihiro smiled weakly. "Hey Miu-chan. How's your Christmas? I just called to get in touch with you and Souda-kun. I...I don't feel very good," He lied, tightening his grip on the phone.

"Then pull up your video service and let us see ya! One look at these tits and you're gonna perk right up! In all the right places!"

He smiled awkwardly, then bit his lip. He heard the background noises of Souda and Sonya just coming back inside from a particularly intense sledding competition, and Miu joining in on their happy banter. He stared at the window, feeling his tears starting to fall.

"N-No...I-I don't want to cry..." He whispered to himself, pulling the phone away from his ear and holding it tightly, finally dissolving into quiet sobs. "I-I don't want to cry...a gentleman never cries...a servant never cries..." His whole body shook, wracked with sobs.

"Are you okay?"

"Yo, you alright?" Souda and Miu asked in concerned tones over the phone, but Chihiro ignored them. He let the phone fall from his hand with a loud crash on the floor, then leaned against the window and continued to cry.

"Here is your daily news for today, Master!" Alter-Ego chirped cheerfully, somehow unaware of its master's predicament. Chihiro continued to sob, ignoring all of the news aside from the last one, which caught his interest. He looked down at the phone, then picked it up.

After giving a hurried goodbye to Miu and her husband, Chihiro hung up and started to quickly dial another number. He suddenly had a great idea.

##########

After making his phone call, he turned Alter-Ego off and made himself look presentable again, putting on a bunch of mascara and powder and foundation on in the mirror so Celestia wouldn't figure out he had been crying. Just as he finished, he heard a loud knock on the door and the women downstairs getting startled. He smiled slightly to himself and hurried downstairs, pulling open the door.

"You were expecting someone, Sir Husband?" Celestia asked in surprise.

"Yes, Lady Wife! In fact, I invited someone here," He explained, stepping aside to let the couple inside the house.

"W-We're so thankful you decided to let us spend the night here on such short notice," Mikan Komaeda stammered slightly, clasping her hands together. "W-We really didn't have anywhere else to stay," She had on a thick wool dress that was red checkered, white tights, black Mary-Janes, and her hair was tied up into two lopsided pigtails tied with a red and green ribbon. The effect looked very rushed, almost as if she did it in a hotel bathroom.

"As you know, we missed our flight. What a stroke of bad luck! But you offering us a place to stay for the night? Lucky," Nagito laughed slightly, dressed in a dark green suit with a garland of holly tucked into his jacket pocket. Celestia glared at Chihiro slightly.

"Sir Husband, I do not want any strangers in my house. You know that by now. They are commoners, nonetheless! And you offered them a place to stay?" She spoke harshly in German, assuming Mikan and Nagito couldn't understand. Chihiro bit his lip and started to tremble, but suddenly stood up straighter.

"Yes, Lady Wife. But, they're not strangers," He took a deep breath. "Nagito-san is from a family of nobles. It might improve your reputation if you offered him a place to stay,"

"He is correct," Nagito answered back in German, making Celestia's face light up slightly.

"You are already schooled in German? Can you speak French?" She asked in French, and Nagito answered back.

"Of course I am skilled. When I was younger, my parents drilled foreign languages into me like crazy. However, I am probably a bit rusty, likely, because I don't use these very much in my everyday life," He laughed.

"Besides, he's the Ultimate Lucky Student. Remember how you always longed to play against him in a game, Lady Wife? Now is your chance," Chihiro added.

Celestia smiled a sweet smile, clapping her hands.

Instantly, a small black table was brought out and set up in the middle of the living room, along with four fancy chairs. Henrietta scooped up Lucille and stood in the corner, watching with interest. The four adults took their seats at the card table, all sitting across from each other. Celestia pulled out her pack of cards and started to dole them out to the people present. After they all had a certain amount, they picked them up and begun to play.

"Why are you here in Scotland anyway?" Chihiro asked curiously. Mikan jumped slightly, assuming she was the one being addressed.

"W-We were going to visit Chiaki-chan...that's why we flew out here. But even though we were near the front row of the crowd and we were waving...she didn't look at us. I don't think she even heard us. Even Sonia-chan didn't look over," She explained sadly, gingerly setting a card down in the middle of the table.

"And for once, I don't think it had anything to do with my luck," Nagito added wistfully, placing his own card down. "The lives of the royals and nobles are double-edged swords, surely. Chiaki-chan lives a luxurious life of silks and pearls, and she has a beautiful girlfriend, but is she even truly happy? I could see it in her eyes. She missed her life, dull as it was,"

Chihiro shifted in his seat slightly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He set down a Jack and then slammed the table with his hand, making the others jump as he collected the small stack.

"I heard the flights were cancelled due to the weather. I felt bad that you two were likely going to spend Christmas alone in some hotel...that's not how Christmas should be spent,"

"W-We don't really have anywhere else to go anyway...Nagito-kun...good thing he has so much money, as every few years something happens to our house and we always end up moving. For the moment...uhhh...we've just been hotel-jumping," Mikan admitted in slight embarrassment.

"Maybe...you could...live with us? Forever? You would have to work for Celestia-chan of course, but...it's a small price to pay," Chihiro instantly offered, ignoring Celestia's glare and the amused chuckle of Henrietta.

At that moment, Celestia set down a Jack and Nagito noticed it, slapping his hand on top of it. Due to his force, or perhaps his luck, or likely both, the small table cracked under the weight and shattered, falling to the floor. Mikan somehow went down with it, landing on top of the mess with her butt in the air, her skirt riding up and revealing dark green lacy panties under her tights. Celestia glared at her in disgust, throwing down her pack of cards, Mikan gasping when the cards landed on her back. Chihiro blushed heavily and looked away, while Nagito gently helped her up.

"Forgive her. That sort of thing happens often," He smiled weirdly.

"Having Nagito-san as a servant is certainly tempting...he already comes from a noble family, so not much training would be needed, if any..." Celestia considered. "But I do not want Mikan to work for me. She is clumsy, crude, badly-dressed, and a _woman_ ," She spat out the last part as if that was the worst possible offense for her. "I do not want any women working for me,"

Mikan started to tear up. "I-I don't want to be separated from my husband though-!"

"She doesn't have to be a maid!" Chihiro quickly thought. "She is an excellent nurse, remember? She could be this family's personal nurse. You always said you hated having to travel to commoner hospitals, right? Well, with her here, you wouldn't have to!"

Celestia started to consider it, then sighed. "Alright. She will work for me as our nurse. But she will need a lot of...help,"

Mikan smiled widely and hugged Nagito tightly. "Did you hear that? We're going to be allowed to live here! Forever! How nice!"

"Yeah, it's quite nice indeed. No more leaky hotel rooms," Nagito smiled again in that strange way of his.

############

Taeko had woken up early on Christmas for once; she was awake even when Chihiro himself woke up. She was lounging at their desk, a pencil in her mouth, her pigtails nowhere in sight. Even her clothes weren't her usual attire; instead being a pale blue sweater dress with black leggings and white boots. In front of her was a notebook. Chihiro smiled softly at her after his bath, getting dressed in his butler outfit.

After all, she might've been Taeko for the time being, but Celestia was bound to make a comeback later on in the day and he needed to be ready for her.

He did give Taeko a small kiss on the cheek before he left, making her lean back in her chair.

"Is that all you're going to give me?" She scoffed, her accent gone. "Come on, give me more. I didn't wake up this early for you to skimp on the kisses!"

"Alright, alright," Chihiro laughed slightly and walked back over, kissing both of her cheeks before she pulled him closer and giving him a large kiss on the lips. He stumbled back a few steps, a huge red blush on his face.

Taeko laughed. "That never gets old. That's why I'm glad I married you." She then turned back to her notebook.

"...May I call you it? One time? Before i have to go downstairs and tend to the servants?" Chihiro asked nervously, hovering close to her desk.

"Knock yourself out,"

"Taeko Fujisaki. I love you. Taeko Fujisaki! She's my wife! Taeko Fujisaki! She's my wife, I married her! We are in love! Tae-!" Chihiro cheered, only to get silenced by Taeko's harsh glare. Ah, so _there_ was the Celestia.

"Alright, you made your point. Go downstairs and see how things are going," She started to write in her notebook, and Chihiro nodded and bowed, heading downstairs.

A few butlers were cooking breakfast, already preparing for Christmas. Nagito was putting out a fire that had started inside of the oven, making Chihiro blink. Still, he didn't question it. They had been living there for a year, after all.

"Good morning, Master Fujisaki," Mikan's soft voice reached him. He turned around to see her standing in the doorway, still clasping her hands together. Her bandages had been replaced with soft white lacy gloves with bows at the end, and her overall attire was of a pure white lolita gown with a large skirt and a red cross on the right breast pocket. A matching lacy apron in light pink was tied around her waist, and her tights and rose barrette matched, while her shoes were white. Her hair had been cut into a short bob, hiding the damage it had prior. With her smooth hair and red lipstick, she truly looked like a different person.

"Morning! B-But...right now, I'm a servant. I'm one of you," He reminded her, making her gasp.

"Oh no! You're right! I'm so sorry, Chihiro-kun! I still can't tell the difference between your outfits! I-I mean...Vincent-kun!" She trembled.

Chihiro went back to supervising the cooks, turning the secret TV back on. The same redhead as last year was chatting happily with a new couple, Hajime and his girlfriend, Akane.

"Ah, old classmates of ours," Nagito pointed out, throwing the burnt cake away in the trash. Mikan nodded happily.

"They look so happy together..." She breathed.

"They really do, don't they?" Chihiro nodded in agreement, glancing up at the TV. "But that's good. Everyone should have someone special to celebrate the season with. Nobody should have to celebrate Christmas alone," He walked into the living room, finding a new portrait painted.

This painted was of Celestia and Chihiro with dark red veils covering their faces with neutral expressions on their faces. Henrietta stood in the center of the portrait, Lucille in her arms with a light pink ribbon around her neck to match her owner's gown. And in the back, Mikan and Nagito were posed, Mikan looking nervous and unsure while Nagito had a smooth smile on his face as if he was used to that sort of thing. They were dressed in dark green.

Chihiro smiled slightly as he stared at the picture. "Nobody," He emphasized, going back into the kitchen.


	3. An Exhausting Flower-Viewing Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spring has come to Japan once again, and that means it's time for the hanami festival; held in a large park. Chihiro is eager about going this year, like he is every year, ready to meet up with his old classmates and experience the prettiness of the flowers. Nothing could get him down...but his moody 'plugged-in' son and the fact he can't tell where his wife is, or even who she is, are certainly candidates. 
> 
> Ships: ChihiroxMukuro, ChihiroxJunko, ChihiroxMukuroxJunko; JunkoxDaiya, KaedexKokichi, MondoxAoi, ChiakixMikan, MakotoxCelestiaxKyoko

Marrying into the Enoshima family had certainly been the strangest thing Chihiro had ever done. Not because they were necessarily eccentric, but simply because half of the time, he had no idea where his real wife was.

The 'family' lived out on the coast in a small but roomy beachhouse. If one stepped outside on their back porch, the beach would just be a few feet away. The porch was neatly decorated with patio chairs and a grill. If Junko was dating a man who could cook or grill, then the whole family would go outside and have themselves a festive barbecue.

Mukuro was usually missing though. She was still in the military and did missions here and there, she wasn't away for long periods of time like when she was in high school but her absences often took a toll on Chihiro. Most of the time she had to keep the locations a secret so he had no way of contacting her until she returned. Junko still lived with them, it was her house, after all, but she was barely around as well, as she vastly preferred to spend time at the house of whichever boy she was currently dating. Chihiro stopped trying to keep track of who she was dating after a while. It seemingly changed by the week.

And then there was his and Mukuro's son, Hideyoshi. At home, the sixteen-year-old was holed up in his room., almost never seen. And when he wasn't, he was off at video game tournaments. He was currently at one, but Chihiro knew he would be back later that morning just in time for the family to go to the flower-viewing ceremony.

Chihiro himself had fallen asleep on his laptop, another programming project half-done. He did a lot of antivirus stuff for companies and thus he often worked from home. He didn't mind that though, at the very least his house was quiet. He woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes and finding the bedroom quiet, empty, and lit up only by his dimly-lit screen. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair, wincing when a bunch of sticky jelly beans fell out. A half-full bag of the candy laid on his desk, spilled over. He was hoping to avoid a shower today, but if his hair was in this bad of shape he might have no choice.

He yawned and closed his laptop, stretching and handing into the kitchen. A half-empty bag of chips was left out on the counter, and a cold bag of McDonald's was in the fridge. He pulled the bag out and heated the food up in the microwave, then sat down at the dining table and ate it silently.

"Mornin', good-lookin'! Oh, wait, it's just you," A feminine voice reached his ears. He didn't look up; he already knew it was Junko. "What happened to your hair? You look like you slept on a candy factory floor! Too bad you don't smell like it,"

"Are you coming with Mukuro-chan and I to the flower-viewing festival?" Chihiro asked instead, ignoring her comments.

"Probably. I mean, I'm a model. I gotta be pretty much anywhere exciting." She then left the room and curled up on the couch, giggling and kissing her latest boyfriend, the older brother of one of his old high school friends. He was a biker named Daiya. Chihiro genuinely wondered what he saw in someone like Junko, but then again, one could ask what he saw in someone like Mukuro as well.

He continued to eat when the door loudly slammed shut and light footsteps ran into the dining room. The owner was Hideyoshi, his son. The boy had very short black hair and hazel eyes, as well as a sprinkling of freckles on his face. He was very thin and lithe, not muscular at all, and was often mistaken for a girl. At tournaments and on the Internet, he adored that, as evidenced by the lavender lolita gown hanging out of his backpack. In real life, he hated it. He was holding a large lime-green trophy.

"Oh, congratulations! That means you won, right?" Chihiro asked happily with a smile on his face.

Hideyoshi screwed up his face in a grimace. "No, Dad, it means I lost. Ugh, you're so fucking clueless sometimes. Is that the real reason you dress the way you do? I can see that. 'Cuz people think it's cute when you're a girl that's clueless!" He rolled his eyes.

Chihiro winced and finished up his food, burping. "Well, go get changed. We want to get there early so we can get a good spot!"

"Fine, fine. Can't believe I have to go to this stupid fucking thing anyway," He left the room, balancing the trophy in his hands. While he was gone, Chihiro went back to his bedroom and changed, brushing all of the jellybeans out of his hair and slipping on a cool and breezy outfit for the slightly warmer weather; a short-sleeved white button-up blouse, a long white skirt that reached his ankles, rhinestone sandals, and a large, white sunhat. He slipped on one of Junko's charm bracelets and sprayed a huge amount of body spray on himself, figuring that would tide everyone over until he showered again. He tested his breath and winced, popping a stick of gum into his mouth.

He then went into the living room, finding Junko and Daiya nowhere to be seen-thankfully-and Mukuro setting her things down.

"H-Hey..." He greeted her shyly. Mukuro stared at him slightly, nodding to acknowledge him. She was dressed in a plain white T-shirt and baggy cargo pants. "Are you excited for the festival? I am. I can't wait to see Mondo-kun and maybe even Leon-kun. They told me the other day they were planning on attending,"

"Really?" She asked. "I'll dress nicely then."

He blinked, unsure if she was being serious or not. They had been married for this long and he still couldn't tell.

"Oh! Hideyoshi won first place at his latest tournament! Isn't that exciting?" He continued. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the Ultimate Major League Gamer!"

"That's nice. I hope he had fun," Mukuro then vanished into her bedroom, likely to get changed. Chihiro took that chance to pull out a checkered yellow picnic blanket from the storage closet, as well as a large cooler. They didn't have any food in the house, so they'd have to make a quick stop to the store to get some. He rolled up the blanket and stuffed it into the cooler, holding it in front of him. He then stood in front of the door, perking up when Hideyoshi arrived.

The boy was dressed in a simple black T-shirt, jeans, black sneakers, and a red jacket adorned with all kinds of buttons and patches. Around his wrists were dozens of charm bracelets that chimed whenever he moved. As usual, he wore his blue backpack, and a blue gaming system was in his hands. He was focused on that.

Mukuro showed up a bit later, leaning against the wall. "Hey! Glad to see you two all ready to go! And you! You look as cute as a little button, yes you do!" She pinched Chihiro's cheeks, making him blush heavily.

She was dressed in jean short-shorts, white sneakers, lacy blue knee-socks, a light blue tank top, and a dark purple hoodie tied around her waist. Her hair was put up in Junko's blonde wig, complete with two white ribbons tying it back. The only sign it was her were the splash of freckles on her face, as well as the smaller and muscular proportions.

It was a game Junko apparently liked to play in high-school; send her sister in dressed as herself. At first she did it when she had modeling shoots and events that conflicted with her school schedule, but after a while, Junko got such a thrill out of tricking others that she did it even when she had no career obligation and just wanted to skip school. Even as adults, the game hadn't ended. It had gotten to the point where Chihiro was often unsure if his wife was Junko or just Mukuro in disguise. He only knew Hideyoshi was Mukuro's because of the freckles. It did very little for his self-esteem and he often said nothing about it, hiding his face.

It seemed today was going to be one of those days where Mukuro was going to be Junko, so did that mean Junko wasn't coming after all? Or had she planned some kind of other scheme?

"It looks like we're all ready to go!" Mukuro carried on, grabbing a fluffy white handbag shaped like a rabbit and heading outside. She rushed over to the bus-stop, leaning against the sign. Chihiro followed after her, carrying the cooler.

"We didn't have any food in the house, so we're going to have to...buy some stuff at the store..." He told her shyly, looking away.

Hideyoshi didn't say anything; the only sounds from him were the sounds from his video game and his charms.

The family then got on the bus once it arrived; even though it was still early, it was filled with a lot of families and couples eager to get there early and get the best spot. It seemed Chihiro wasn't the only one with that idea.

As they rode along, Mukuro chatted eagerly with Hideyoshi about what the tournament was like, which he answered in dull tones. Chihiro glared at his system slightly. He had a sudden urge to knock it out of his hands and break it, but instead of doing that, he folded in on himself and looked out the window. His skirt rode up slightly, making him blush and push it back down.

After they made a quick stop at the convenience store to get snacks-which was mainly just Mukuro and Hideyoshi ordering Chihiro around to get their favourites-they hopped back onto the bus and made their way to the park that was hosting the event.

Once they arrived, Chihiro picked the cooler up, wincing at how heavy it had gotten suddenly. He resorted to just dragging it off the bus, only to trip on both the last stair and his long skirt and fell on the asphalt of the parking lot, crying out in pain. The cooler fell open and a bunch of things fell out. Hideyoshi looked up from his game briefly to laugh really hard.

"Pumpkin pie!" Mukuro exclaimed, rushing over to Chihiro. She picked up all of the things that fell out of the cooler and easily picked the cooler up, slinging it over her shoulder. Chihiro teared up when he saw that. Of course his own wife was still stronger than him, what girl wasn't? And some people wondered why he still crossdressed, even as old as he currently was. "Are you okay?" She pressed, helping Chihiro off the ground. He hissed in pain, looking at his scrapped hands. "Anything bleeding?"

"I-I'm fine..." He lied. In reality, his left ankle was hurting him, but he didn't want to tell her and have them leave and miss the festival. He had already messed up the day for them enough.

"If you insist! Come on, let's go find a great spot!" Mukuro flashed her signature grin, giving a peace-sign. She walked off, and the two boys followed after her, Chihiro wincing slightly whenever he put weight on the bad ankle.

"How about here?" He suggested, motioning to a spot underneath several blossoming trees. It was closer to the road and food stands, but only a few people were sitting there. Mukuro nodded in agreement. She placed the cooler down and pulled out the blanket, throwing it onto the grass and smoothing it out. Chihiro immediately sat down, hissing quietly.

"You said you wanted to see if any of your friends are here? Why don't you go look? There's already a lot of people here!" She suggested, still smiling. Hideyoshi sat down on the blanket and continued to play his video game.

"I don't know...they might recognize you and then come over to us. After all, you're...easy to pick out in a crowd, when you look like that," He declined, choosing his words carefully.

"Suit yourself!" Mukuro sat down on the blanket as well, then laid down, curling up. She closed her eyes. Chihiro wondered if she was just going to fall asleep right there and then, which wouldn't surprise him. Despite the noise, the calm breeze and fluttering petals, as well as the warmth, made him a bit sleepy as well, and he probably would've fallen asleep if he wasn't positive the instant he did, Hideyoshi would run off and cause mayhem. So he stayed awake, looking at all of the people.

He flopped over onto his stomach and watched the people who were making use of the food stalls, noticing most of them had kids of their own.

"I'm so excited for the festival! There's a lot of familiar faces here! We should say hi to everyone!" A blonde suggested eagerly. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail and she had on a long white trenchcoat with a checkered scarf on over a black skirt. When her food arrived, she took it eagerly, splitting it in half for her twins; a boy and girl with purple hair.

"Do we have to? I'm not really in the mood to socialize," A boy with purple hair whined; he must've been her husband even though he looked so much younger than her. They were dressed almost identical. "It was your idea to come here!"

"Hey, what's up, chick?" A familiar voice greeted Chihiro, making him look up in surprise.

"Mondo-kun! Aoi-chan!" He gasped in surprise. Mondo's girlfriend, Aoi, smiled happily and waved to him.

"How are you, Chihiro-chan?" She asked nicely.

"I-I'm good..." He glanced over at Mukuro, who was still relaxing with her eyes closed. "How about you two? Oh, have you seen Leon-kun?"

"No. I don't think he's here, to be honest. Can't say I blame him. I didn't really want to look at pink flowers all day. It's...just so girly, you know? Oh, I don't mean to offend you though. After all, I'd expect girls like you and your wife to enjoy it," Mondo explained. "That's why I'm here. Gotta make Aoi-chan happy,"

Aoi had hurried off and was currently buying some ondango sticks. Chihiro laughed awkwardly at Mondo's explanation; the only people he knew his secret aside from his parents were Mukuro, Junko, and of course their son.

"Y-Yeah...I actually wanted to see them more than her," Chihiro added, continuing to smile nervously. "Oh, have you seen your brother yet? I heard he might be here,"

"Really? Who'd you hear that from?"

"Uhhhhh..." He briefly glanced at Mukuro, who was staring at him in slight annoyance. "...He posted something about it on his Twitter. Didn't you see it?"

"No. But if he's here too, then that's great! Maybe I'll go find a place by him to sit," Mondo grinned as Aoi arrived again, holding out an ondango stick to him.

"Want one?" She asked nicely, and Mondo nodded and took it from her.

"See ya around, kid," He waved and gently took Aoi's hand, and the two walked away. Chihiro sighed and sat up, wincing as he accidentally put weight on his injured ankle. He pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Hey! I saw you at the tournament earlier," Chiaki gently nudged Hideyoshi, coming up behind him. He leaned back into her, resting his head on her stomach.

"Yeah, I remember. You play really well!" He praised, pausing his game. "I always get pretty fucking excited when I see you at one of those because I know that I'm in for the challenge of a lifetime,"

Chiaki giggled slightly. "Oh, you're here with your family! That's wonderful," She then looked over at Mikan, who was sitting further away from the couple. She was currently trying to take out soda cans from the cooler. "I'm here with my wife," She then waved and walked away, and Hideyoshi waved back at her before returning to his game.

"You know...I almost married her," Chihiro said, more to himself in a wistful tone. When he thought about it, he had almost married a lot of girls. So why did he pick Mukuro? He looked back at her, finding her popping open a bag of chips and eating them. She had sat back up.

He didn't hate her, obviously. He just...found her intimidating and a bit hard to handle at times. And her relationship with Junko, even now, was strange and baffled him.

When they attended Hope's Peak together, Mukuro was practically an enigma. She was often away for long periods of time due to her work, way more than anyone else. And a lot of times when she was there, she wasn't even herself, she was dressed as Junko so her twin's grades wouldn't plummet. Chihiro admired Junko herself for her fashionable nature, not to mention her overall appearance. He loved bustier woman and Junko seemed to have that in spades.

Of course, the one time he actually mustered up the courage to speak to Junko...it hadn't even been her at all. He asked her out to eat lunch with him in the computer lab, and she agreed. He showed her how to program a simple code, and she genuinely seemed interested and impressed. She told him she had fun and asked him out again.

The next day, he asked Junko if she wanted to hang out with him, she laughed in his face and walked off, leaving him confused and in tears. He had nearly darted off to cry when Mukuro stopped him. She sat down with him and explained what had happened, and how she was sorry for leading him on like that. He accepted her apology, still a bit weirded-out.

Somehow, the two had grown closer after that incident. He taught her more programming tricks and she showed him her knife collection, as well as how good she was at throwing them. They had similar complexes and personality traits, yet somehow, it didn't really 'click' with him.

Shortly after graduation, they agreed to get married and he moved in with her at Junko's place. Everything was incredibly informal. Somehow, he had also become a 'plaything' to Junko as well, and she often kept him company when Mukuro was away in her own twisted way. Him and Mukuro had a son at some point. They were the only ones who knew his secret, and even that was only because they had to know.

Being surrounded by such commanding, dominating, and strong women constantly made his already low self-esteem plummet even further. A lot of times, he wondered why he still stuck around.

He glanced at Mukuro as she ate the bag of chips. Cheesy residue from the chips were on her fingers and around her mouth. The same way he ate chips. He always liked that aspect of her, how they both detested girly things and just hygienic things in general. He always found the most adorable feature of hers to be her freckles, and he was overjoyed when their son got a bit older and developed his own.

"The festival is getting ready to start! Are you guys excited?" Makoto asked the trio in excitement, shocking Chihiro out of his thoughts. He then nodded.

"Getting everyone to agree on coming was hard though," Chihiro laughed slightly.

"I know that feeling," He motioned over to his spot, where a well-dressed boy who looked a lot like Makoto was laying out a frilly black blanket. He then pointed over at Celestia and Kyoko; Celestia was dressed in an all-black ensemble with a matching parasol that couldn't possibly have been comfortable in that sort of weather, while Kyoko wore a lavender ball gown that was very frilly and a silver tiara on her head. Makoto himself was in a dark black suit with a red tie. "Neither of them really wanted to come..."

"It's still so bizarre how you got married to two women, Makoto-kun. Can't say I blame you though. After all, two's better than one!" Mukuro grinned at him, making him blush.

"I-It's not like that at all!" He started to protest before Kyoko gently held his hand and led him away.

Chihiro laughed awkwardly afterwards, not liking that implication. After all, he was all but married to two women himself, was he not?

"Is it really getting ready to start? In that case, I should use the bathroom," She randomly announced, standing up and taking her empty chip bag with her to throw away. Chihiro winced slightly; he had to go too but there was no way he could. Stupid secret.

"My little cornflake!~~~" Junko's voice announced loudly, scooting in super close to Chihiro. "You look as cute as a button," She pinched his cheeks. She had on a leopard-print fur coat with a white belt buckled in the center, white jeans, and black wedge sandals. Her hair had the usual two-coloured bow and rabbit hair clip pinned into it. The outfit was a favourite of hers; she always seemed to wear it whenever she was out in public.

"What about Daiya-san?" Chihiro questioned, figuring he was lurking around somewhere if Junko was here.

"Ah, don't be such a spoilsport! If you must know, I sent him home," She stated, pulling Chihiro into her embrace. "And my sister's gone. So you could use some company!"

"She just went to the bathroom," He said.

"She's going to miss the start of the festival though. But I won't!~ so I can tell her alllll about it!~" She pulled Chihiro into a kiss on the lips, making him blush heavily.

"Hello everyone and welcome to this park's annual hanami festival! I am so happy to see all of the smiling and excited faces of families and couples alike!" Sayaka announced from the stage, wearing her pink idol outfit. "It is officially time for the festival to start, so you may start taking pictures an whatnot, but please be mindful of others and don't take pictures of them without their permission! And make sure the park stays clean and beautiful!" She smiled happily and left the stage, while the park came to life as everyone rose from their spots and started to take pictures of the trees.

"That's our cue!" Junko pulled out a pink cell-phone and pulled Chihiro up to his feet, making him gasp in pain as she put sudden weight onto his ankle. She raised her phone up to the sky, waiting for a perfect shot-and soon got one when a sudden wind blew past, fluttering the trees and making a barrage of soft, pink petals rain down on everyone. The ground was soon covered. Junko snapped it. "And one more!" She flipped the camera around and put her arm around Chihiro, making him smile in an uncomfortable way. She snapped the picture anyway.

Junko then grabbed his arm tightly and rushed around, snapping pictures of trees and scenery she particularly found to be beautiful. Chihiro smiled a bit when she showed him some of her shots. Overbearing as she may have been, he couldn't deny the girl had a knack for taking beautiful pictures. Maybe in another life, she was the Ultimate Photographer. There was certainly already one at this event, a woman in a short dress and red hair who was busy snapping shots of practically everything. Chihiro saw her in school a few times and always thought her freckles were cute; they reminded him of Mukuro's freckles.

"Alright, gotta go, cornflake!~" She grinned. "It was getting annoying around you anyway. You absolutely fucking reek! Like, whoa do you literally stink!" She slid her phone back into her pocket. "I can see why you picked my gross sister. You're both gross! Well, toodles!~" She waved and had hurried off, making him blink. He smelled himself, only to wince. Okay, so he really did need a shower. He then looked at his wrist and noticed at some point, Junko had taken the charm bracelet back. Well, that was what he got for trying to take it from her, he supposed.

He slightly limped back to his own spot, finding Hideyoshi in the middle of trying to cut a sandwich in half with a knife, while Mukuro stood there with her hands on her hips.

"Where were you? I came back and you were gone!" She demanded.

Chihiro blinked, and her expression softened slightly when she read his eyes. She gave him a grin instead.

"Ohhhh, I get it now! She was here, wasn't she?"

He nodded.

Mukuro was seemingly satisfied and sat down, pulling out a tube of crackers with some cheese from the cooler, taking a knife out and gently spreading the smooth cheese on the crackers. Chihiro sat down as well, pulling out an apple and taking a bite out of it. Hideyoshi finished slicing his own sandwich and took a bite, laying on his back and enjoying the view, for once. His game system laid abandoned beside him.

"Is that goat cheese?" Chihiro asked in surprise, reading the cheese packaging. Mukuro nodded.

"Not to be racist or anything, but I love goat cheese!" She flashed a peace-sign as she bit into one of the crackers.

"That's...not even racist," Chihiro blinked in surprise.

"Well I just said, I wasn't being racist!"

The family continued to eat their food in silence. The flower blossoms swirled around them whenever the wind picked up, oftentimes getting into their food or right into their mouths, making them choke. The birds chirped around them. The sun beat down, signaling the turn from morning to afternoon with the stronger rays and rising temperature. Chihiro was suddenly thankful he had his hat on so he wouldn't get tanned or burned by the rays. It was almost a perfect day, if it weren't for his hurting ankle and the fact he really had to pee.

Mukuro took out her own phone, a purple one to match her sister, and started to take a few pictures of the trees, as well as the petals on the ground. She longed to take pictures of the other people in the park, but didn't want to risk getting in trouble. Soon, her cheese and crackers were all gone and she pulled out a water bottle, sipping from it.

"I wonder what sort of boring bullshit we'll have to do after the sun sets," Hideyoshi spoke up, using his backpack as a pillow.

"We'll probably just go home at that point," Chihiro laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe Sayaka-chan will host a concert for us! Wouldn't that be fun?" Mukuro smiled. Chihiro smiled back at the thought, suddenly wincing again when his ankle let out a painful throb. That made her frown. "Alright, you're in pain. Stop trying to hide it. Where does it hurt? Is it from falling off the bus earlier?"

He took a deep breath and nodded, rolling up his skirt slightly and showing off his ankle to Mukuro. It hadn't swollen up, but he gave a loud gasp of pain when she pressed against it.

"Sprained. It's sprained," She recited in a monotone, her true self starting to come out. "Hold on," She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out some bandages. "These won't do much, but they'll prevent you from putting too much weight on the sprain." She motioned for him to stick his foot out further, and he did so, tearing up from both the pain and embarrassment as she gently wrapped it up. She then nodded at her handiwork. "When we go home, prop it up. Don't move around too much. It'll heal a lot faster that way," She whispered, and he nodded.

"Is Aunt Junko still here, Mom? I wanted to take a picture of her," Hideyoshi asked curiously, but Mukuro shrugged.

"How should I know? That girl is like the wind. Always felt, never seen," She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Fuck does that mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean,"

Hideyoshi sighed in irritation, rolling his eyes and sitting back up. Chihiro started to eat his apple again.

"You're that really famous gamer that won the competition today, right?" A girl dressed in a peasant dress asked him in an excited tone, her hair braided to her side. Her hair was a bright shade of red and a large gemstone was around her neck. "I saw you play on the Internet because the competition always hosts it live. I loved watching you play...you know, because you're a girl. It's not very often you see girls get that good at video games,"

Hideyoshi instantly turned around, giving her a dirty look.

"A girl? You think I'm a girl? You honestly believe, with every single fiber of your being, that I'm a girl?" He asked in disbelief, starting to tremble slightly. The girl nodded happily. He pointed at his chest. "Look at me! Do I look like I have any fucking tits to you? I don't! I'm not a fucking girl! I'm a boy! Don't let my moms fool you, they are girls, but I am not!" He yelled. The girl got startled, mumbled a quick apology, and rushed off, almost in tears. "Yeah, that's right, you better fucking run away from me! Next time, I'll whip my dick out and then you all will see that I'm not a girl at all!"

Mukuro giggled slightly, enjoying the spectacle, but Chihiro blushed heavily and grabbed Hideyoshi, forcing him to sit back down.

"Please...stop doing that whenever someone calls you a girl," He scolded gently.

"Fuck no! It's their own fault for not using their eyes! Who could possibly look at me and think that?!" He huffed, pulling out his gaming system and turning it back on. "This day is officially fucking ruined,"

It didn't seem like the teenager had been enjoying it very much to begin with, but Chihiro kept that thought to himself. He finished the apple and threw the core in the cooler, intending to throw it away later.

"I wonder if they'll have any beer for the adults?" Mukuro asked. "Or maybe, because Sayaka-chan in the host, there'll be a karaoke competition! That'd be fun!"

"I sure hope not," Chihiro winced, already hating the idea of having to go on-stage and sing in front of a bunch of...well, not technically strangers, but he still didn't want to do it.

"Not fair! I want some beer!" Hideyoshi spoke up just to protest.

"We'll let you have a sip," Mukuro promised.

In the evening, Sayaka came out onstage with her idol group, performing a selection of songs that the fans selected for her prior to the event. Of course Chihiro and Junko submitted their own picks through the Internet; Chihiro because he genuinely loved her music and wanted her to sing a song he liked, and Junko because...well, he actually wasn't sure. Junko was as much of an enigma as Mukuro was sometimes.

As expected, there was a lot of cheering and applause whenever Sayaka did a solo or danced around, as well as a lot of people asking for encores. After a while, she had run out of time and just stood onstage, smiling as she spoke into the microphone. "Thank you all so much for coming out! There will be a fireworks show starting soon, so I hope you all can stay for that! If not, then thank you for coming out this year for the flower-viewing! Hope to see you all next year!" She cheered, and the audience cheered in response; a few chuckled at her clever wordplay. She rushed off the stage with her group, and a few people started to pack up and get ready to leave; Chihiro's group among them.

"Thank God, we're finally leaving," Hideyoshi stood up, stretching and picking up his backpack. He slung it over his shoulders. He shook the cherry blossoms out of his hair.

"Awwwww, I was hoping we could see the fireworks!" Mukuro pouted, slinging the cooler over her shoulder again. "Can you please get the blanket for me, pumpkin pie?"

"O-Okay..." Chihiro nodded, very slowly inching himself off it and starting to roll it up, trying not to make any sudden movements. He rubbed his knees together anxiously. "I hope the bus won't take too long to get here," He finally managed to roll up the blanket and held it tightly in his arms.

"It's probably going to be super crowded though. Ugh," Hideyoshi rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"It's a small price to pay for all the fun we had!" Mukuro grinned. "If it wasn't already so dark I'd take a picture of all of us,"

Several fireworks loudly fired into the air and exploded over their heads, drenching them in shades of purple, gold, and green.

"Oh, they started the fireworks early!" The blonde girl from earlier cooed, bouncing up and down.

"So we do get to see them! That's great!" Mukuro added, starting to walk to the bus stop. "Come on, pumpkin pie, I'm not in the mood to miss the bus because you're standing around!"

Chihiro nodded in understanding, holding out his hand to Mukuro. Another round of fireworks shot into the sky, and his legs turned to jelly. He promptly fell over as a result.

#######

"I can't believe Dad sometimes. He wants to dress like a chick, whatever. But then he has to go and piss himself?" Hideyoshi grumbled as he slammed the door to their house loudly. "It would've been funny if my reputation wasn't tarnished as well!"

"It wasn't his fault. You know how he is," Mukuro scolded softly, pulling off her wig.

"At least now he'll have a reason to take a shower. Seriously, he fucking stunk. Even his breath stunk!"

"You smell too. Don't be a hypocrite," Mukuro scolded. Hideyoshi huffed and stormed back into his bedroom. She sat down on the couch with a defeated sigh, looking at the bulletin board Junko set up above said couch. It was just used as a collage of pictures almost entirely of her or occasionally, whoever she was dating at the time. A few were of Mukuro posing as Junko, and even fewer were of Chihiro modeling a few outfits, seemingly wearing everything from lolita clothes to maid dresses to even swimsuits.

"How was your day? I heard your gross husband had a little 'accident'!" Junko crossed her arms under her chest. smirking. "I was right, you are perfect for each other!"

"Can I see the pictures you took of the festival? You take way better ones than me," Mukuro asked curiously.

"Ugh, fine, if I gotta," Junko sat herself down on the couch, pulling out her phone and scooting in close to Mukuro, scrolling through some of her personal favourites. As they sat there, Chihiro came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet and wearing a pink frilly nightgown.

"What are you two looking at?" He asked curiously, blushing in embarrassment.

"Those pictures I took! Remember?" Junko smiled.

"Oh...then I won't interrupt," Chihiro turned to leave, but Mukuro shook her head.

"I-I...how about you join us?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah! You're part of this family too, cornflake! Get in here!" Junko pulled Chihiro into her embrace, making him blush heavily from how close he was to her chest.

"Junko-chan takes really good pictures," Mukuro added. Chihiro nodded in agreement, sitting inbetween the two.

"Not just of herself," He aded quietly, blushing heavily in surprise when the twin sisters both gave him a kiss on the cheek, then on the lips.

"Look at his face! That's the one reason I let you keep him!" Junko teased. "Now come on, let's look at these pictures!"

The next morning, when Daiya and Mondo came over for a visit, they found the three fast asleep on the couch, all snuggling with each other. They looked to be in a deep, peaceful sleep, so after gently covering them up with a blanket, the two brothers left them alone and promised to come back later.


	4. A Surprising Marine Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer time! For most people, this means sun, sand, surf, snowcones...and Chihiro and his wife Kyoko are no exception. When Makoto invites the two and their son out to the beach for Umi no Hi, the two jump at the chance to reconnect with their former classmates and also to get some well-needed relaxation. Everything seemed perfect. And even when an almost-violent-incident goes down, everything still seems perfect. But what is on Chihiro's mind?
> 
> Ship: KyokoxChihiro; MakotoxAoi, LeonxSayaka, HifumixChiaki, JunkoxMondo, MukuroxIshimaru, SayakaxKyokoxChihiro

Chihiro was woken up by the sound of the coffee machine being turned on, which then made him realize he was in a position where hearing an object in the kitchen would bother him. He woke up with a start, finding himself asleep on the dining table, a black laptop in front of him. The screen blinked impatiently at him, wanting to be fed more code. He blinked back, still feeling slightly groggy and dazed. He yawned as he glanced into the kitchen, finding his wife in the middle of making coffee.

"You were out like a light. I tried waking you up myself but you wouldn't budge," Kyoko explained, not looking up from her coffee.

"Oh..." Chihiro stretched, laughing in embarrassment. He pushed the chair out from under the table and closed his laptop.

"You should eat quickly and get dressed. Makoto-kun invited us out to the beach today," She continued, making Chihiro look over at her curiously.

"Really? Why?" His eyes then widened. "Oh, today's Marine Day! That'll be fun!" He hurried into the kitchen and started to pull out a cup of ramen, but Kyoko shook her head at him.

"Eat something more nutritious. Besides, what if our son sees you?" Her coffee had finally finished and she pulled it out, taking a sip of it.

"Yukine is eighteen. I think he's past the age of mimicking us," Still, he put the ramen away and instead started to make a bowl of cereal. "I don't think it matters anyway...he didn't develop either of our personalities," He then sat down at the table and started to eat awkwardly; Kyoko made herself some bacon and had that with her coffee. If she were anyone else, he would've assumed she was fighting off a hangover, but Kyoko wasn't anyone else. That was part of her intimidation.

Their house was very small and had just enough room for the three of them. The dining room was really just an extension of the kitchen, with a half-wall connecting the living room. Two small bedrooms and one bathroom. Compared to what some other people might've had, they also had very few pictures of their life; just a few scattering of their life at Hope's Peak, their wedding in purple hues, and then a few of their son Yukine. They were too busy for actual family things, it seemed.

After they finished eating, Chihiro quickly took a shower and went into their bedroom, pulling out two different outfits with a nervous expression.

"Uhhhh...which one should I wear?" He asked shyly, holding out two outfits; a white T-shirt with a grey and black striped set of swim trunks and a light pink bikini with jean shorts as a cover-up. Kyoko glanced back at the selections and shrugged, brushing her hair.

"Whichever one makes you feel the most comfortable," She responded, and Chihiro nodded and picked the swim trunks, hanging the bikini back up. He then neatly it packed it into his blue backpack, slinging it over his shoulders. He had on a light blue striped T-shirt with jean shorts and brown sandals. He went into the living room to wait for the others, finding Yukine standing near the front door already, dressed in red swim trunks with a large smile on his face.

"Hi Dad! You're ready? That was quick!" He clasped his hands together. He resembled a younger Chihiro; having the same hair and eye colours and the same figure. The only difference was his hair was usually kept a lot neater.

"All I was doing was picking a swim-suit..." He laughed awkwardly. "But I thought you wanted to change once we got there,"

"I changed my mind! This way is a whole lot quicker. It means that once we arrived, I can go straight from the car to the beach!"

Kyoko then walked into the room, wearing a light purple sundress with her hair in a ponytail. As usual, she always wore her gloves. She had a large white bag slung over her shoulder.

The family then got into their silver car and drove off; Kyoko driving this time.

The beach wasn't too far off from their house, but it was still a bit of a drive. Chihiro leaned against the window, looking out it. Yukine talked happily with Kyoko as she drove; she only supplied him with one-word answers. The car soon became really hot and Kyoko rolled down all of their windows; Chihiro pulled himself away from the window before his sweat caused him to stick to it.

After a while, even Yukine stopped talking as they finally approached the beach. It was early in the day, but a few families were already setting up on the beach in preparation for Marine Day. They all seemed to have younger children. Kyoko found an empty spot and parked their car, getting out and wincing slightly when she felt how hot the sun's rays were. She pulled some money out of the bag and fed it into the meter as Chihiro and Yukine got the rest of their bags out of the car.

"Yukine-kun!" A cheerful voice greeted, and Yukine eagerly ran over to the voice's owner, waving.

"Yuuto-kun!"

"What's up?" The tall, dark-skinned boy fist-bumped Yukine, who grinned.

"I'm doing good! You're here early too!"

"Uh, I kinda gotta be! My parents are the ones hosting the event!"

"Kyoko-chan! I'm so happy you're early!" Aoi greeted eagerly, pulling Kyoko into a hug. She tensed up slightly in surprise, but after glancing at Chihiro, relaxed slightly. "Does this mean you'll help us set everything up?"

"Come on, Aoi-chan...they're guests. They should be allowed to set their own stuff down first," Makoto teased her gently, pulling out some umbrellas and blankets from the trunk of his green car.

"Who else is coming?" Kyoko asked curiously after Aoi let go of her.

"Awwww, if we told you it wouldn't be a surprise! Just trust me, you'll like the guest list," Aoi promised.

"I'll take your word for it," Kyoko looked back at their car, making sure everything they needed had been taken out of it, then closing the doors and locking the car. She then walked down the stairs and onto the beach, slowing down slightly because her sneakers were sinking into the sand slightly.

"Oh! This looks like a good spot!" Yukine announced, running over to a spot in the middle of the sand, near the water. A few umbrellas were set up in that area. "It looks like it'll be shady and nice and quiet,"

"That's a perfect spot, Yukine!" Chihiro praised, setting down his backpack on the sand. Kyoko smiled a tiny bit and laid down a black blanket, setting all of their stuff down on it.

"I'm going to change." She then said, making Chihiro nod as she tightened her grip on her bag and walked off towards the restrooms. Yukine kicked off his sandals and laid down on the towel, gazing up at the shadow of the umbrellas over them. Chihiro started to relax as well, glad he was finally out of the sun and heat. He scanned the faces at the beach to see if they were familiar to him.

He saw Makoto and Aoi set up a few feet away from them, having way more stuff to do-but they made sense, since they were the ones hosting this event. He continued to look around, eventually standing up with a stretch.

"Huh? Where are you going, Dad?" Yukine asked in surprise.

"I'm going to see if I recognize anyone here...I won't be gone long though. It doesn't seem like anyone else I know is here," He stated before there was a loud shout and a bunch of people formed a crowd around one family; many taking pictures.

"Ah, that must be Sayaka-chan!" Aoi spoke up, clasping her hands together happily.

The crowd eventually parted, revealing Sayaka resting on the shoulder of her husband; she had sunglasses on but it was fairly obvious she was exhausted. She already had her swimsuit on; a very frilly pink bikini. Her hair was up in pigtails and a bunch of pink and purple hair clips were in her hair.

"Every time we go anywhere, it's always the same! Mobbed by paparazzi and fans alike! Ugh!" Her daughter, Desiree, huffed in irritation. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had on an orange striped swim-suit that was very low-cut; the colour practically clashed with her short firey red hair.

"Oh, don't act like you don't like it. You're my daughter, after all!" Leon smirked, making Desiree smirk back. They continued to walk onto the beach, Sayaka finding a spot closer to the waves and motioning to it.

"Let's set our stuff down here," She suggested, already pulling off her purple beach bag. She set it on the grond and pulled out two towels; both in shades of blue.

"Isn't it too close to the waves though? Like, wouldn't the waves wash away our stuff?" Leon questioned, wearing white swim trunks. He looked around.

"I think it'll be fine." Sayaka replied firmly, laying down on one of the blankets once she finished. Desiree started to wade into the water, rolling her eyes when Sayaka snapped her fingers at her. "Be careful! you got that new piercing in!"

"I'll be fine, Mom! The water ain't actually going up into my face!" She ran out further into the water, just to spite Sayaka. The blue-haired girl simply sighed in exhaustion.

Soon more people started to arrive, and Kyoko walked back to her family, still clutching her bag. Her swimsuit was a simple black one-piece that resembled her school swimsuit. Still, Chihiro still blushed when he saw her because he thought she looked cute. Her hair was been pulled into a side ponytail that was tight and pulled high off her shoulders. He had taken that opportunity to quickly change into his swimsuit as well; wearing a white T-shirt along with the trunks.

She laid down on their towel and watched as Yuuto walked back over to Yukine and coaxed the boy to go swimming with him; soon they had both dashed off into the water. Desiree was already swimming and started to chase after the two, catching Yukine and laughing as she splashed him.

After a sufficient amount of people had arrived, Aoi stood up happily. "I think all of our guests are here! Well...aside from Byakuya-san and Touko-san. They declined...but it looks like everyone else showed up!"

Their guests took that as their cue to start socializing; the kids played in the ocean together while the adults talked with each other. Chihiro pulled his knees up to his chest as he continued to sit in the shade of the umbrellas, feeling awkward about talking to anyone. Kyoko seemed to think the same, as she was running her gloved fingers through her hair.

To this day he still had never seen what was under those gloves. She promised him it had nothing to do with his personality; she just didn't feel comfortable with showing him. He respected that, yet was still annoyed. He confessed to her his biggest secret, and she couldn't show him what was under her gloves? Even though they had been married for almost twenty years?

"You guys looked lonely...so we came over here to bring the party to you!" Chiaki smiled happily. Her swim-suit was a white bikini with a small frilly skirt attached as a cover-up. Even now, she had a game-system; a light pink DS strapped to the side of her bikini bottom. Chihiro felt like that wasn't very safe if she accidentally fell into the ocean, but decided to keep that thought to himself.

"Sorry if we're coming off as anti-social to you. I just don't feel like getting up, and my husband doesn't really like social contact," Kyoko apologized, making Chihiro blush heavily. Chiaki laughed.

"Here, I'll help you break the ice to everyone!" She grabbed Chihiro's arm and pulled him to his feet, running him down the length of the beach. The sand felt warm and loose under his bare feet, while Chiaki's DS bounced up and down wildly with her movements.

She brought him over to the food court, where it seemed most of Makoto and Aoi's guests were hanging out at, sitting at the benches or leaning against the tables.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Madame Fujisaki!" Hifumi greeted Chihiro eagerly. "What an interesting choice of swimwear too! Is there a bikini underneath?"

"Y-Yeah...I don't like showing off my skin..." Chihiro mumbled underneath his breath.

"Oh, so you already know my husband! I thought you did...but I wasn't sure...but you two were in the same class...right?" Chiaki tilted her head slightly in thought.

"Yeah...we were..." Chihiro kept looking away from Hifumi, feeling awkward.

"Showing her around, Madame Yamada?"

Chiaki nodded. "I thought Chihiro-kun could use some ice-breaking...so I thought some introductions were underway!"

"Hey!~ It's our favourite little Ken doll!~" Junko cheered happily, pulling Chihiro into a large hug. He blushed heavily because of how close her breasts were to his face. She eventually let him go, still grinning. "So, you meeting the other guests? Don't really know why. Aside from me and my husband of course, everyone else is soooo boring! Though, that's kinda fun too,"

"Your nicknames still make no sense," Mukuro said calmly, sitting down at a table. She had on a tight black bikini with a grey bow in her hair; Junko had an even skimpier white bikini with two white bows tying up her pigtails.

"So? It's the thought that counts! Come on, come sit down!" She pulled Chihiro over to her own table, which not only had Mukuro but also their husbands; Mondo and Ishimaru, as well as Leon and Sayaka. Sayaka was halfway through a fruit salad, while Mukuro was drinking tea. "I'm so jealous of pop princess over there. She got swarmed by the paparazzi the moment she stepped onto the beach! Meanwhile, nobody even noticed me!"

Chihiro shyly sat down next to Junko, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, I had no idea you were here! How's it going, Chihiro-kun?" Leon grinned, holding out his fist for a bump. Chihiro weakly gave him one, smiling nervously. "You should totally go swimming with us later. But your wife's gotta come too so we can gawk at her in her bikini!"

"She's not wearing a bikini," Chihiro stated, finally looking up.

"Oh. Well, she'll probably still look hot regardless. Right babe?" He nudged Sayaka, who winced slightly. She still had her sunglasses on.

"Speaking of which, how are you doing, kid? You seem to be really quiet today," Mondo asked curiously. Chihiro blushed slightly.

"I'm fine. I just get kinda nervous at events like this. A lot of people all around, all trying to get my attention...I'm not very good at socializing normally, so put me in a crowded place..." He still tried to smile, but even he could tell how strained it was.

Mondo reached over and put his hand on his head. "I'd say you're doing a pretty good job of it, kid. Socializing, I mean. I mean, you came over here to our table, and we gotta be the loudest one here,"

"Sadly. So much ruckus. If this keeps up they might kick us out," Ishimaru explained.

"It's the summer. I think they would understand," Mukuro tried to reassure him. "Besides, nobody has filed a complaint, have they? So we'll be fine."

"Stop being such a spoil-sport. Ishimaru-kun! I can totalllllly see why you picked my gross sister. You two are almost identical!" Junko laughed, flashing a peace-sign.

"We only met because we were in the military together. We discovered we had a connection. I would've been a fool to not try and pursue it further. After we both left the force, of course," Ishimaru reminded her.

Makoto and Aoi finally walked over to the group, having changed into their bathing suits. Makoto's was a simple green pair of shorts, while Aoi had on a dark green one-piece that tied around the neck. It was form-fitting and showed off her curves.

"You guys seem like you're having so much fun!" Aoi smiled. "I'm so glad I decided to host this party!"

"You guys should go swimming! Afterwards, I'll have some food ready!" Makoto smiled.

"Are you going to grill us something?" Chiaki asked curiously, looking up from her DS.

"I can try!" He laughed awkwardly. "And if that fails, well...we have a food court here, don't we?"

"Makoto-kun's right! Come on, let's go swimming!" Leon cheered, pulling Sayaka off her seat and running with her off the padded area.

Mondo shook his head slightly, standing up. Junko instantly wrapped her arm around his own, smiling at him. Mukuro followed behind Ishimaru quietly, while Chihiro followed after them, hoping Kyoko would be at the water already.

Much to his surprise, she was, silently walking along the edge of the water. She looked up when the group arrived and hurried over to Chihiro, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"W-We're all going to go swimming! Do you want to join us?" He asked her nicely. She nodded.

"Of course. It's starting to get really hot. But don't expect me to go out too far,"

Chihiro nodded in response and slowly held out his hand; she took it and the two of them walked into the water together. They walked out until the water was up to Kyoko's waist; Chihiro hung back a few feet. She remained there, splashing some of the water on herself to keep herself cool. Chihiro blushed as he watched her, shocked out of his thoughts by Leon and Mondo coming up behind him and nearly tackling him.

"Come on, let's swim! It's way too hot to just stand around idly!" Leon grinned, swimming away from the group slightly. Chihiro nodded and started to swim after Leon; soon catching up to him.

"So, what's up with Sayaka-chan wearing those sunglasses?" He asked out of curiosity, making Leon roll his eyes.

"That's such a weird question, man! It's the summer! She just wants to keep her eyes covered from the sun! Her gorgeous, pretty blue eyes..." Leon suddenly ducked down underwater, and Chihiro looked around in curiosity, wondering where he had gone. He started to swim away, only to loudly gasp in surprise when Leon grabbed his leg underwater and pulled him underneath.

He soon let go of him and Chihiro floated back up to the surface, gasping and sputtering.

"Kid! Are you okay?" Mondo asked in concern, hurrying over. Chihiro nodded, starting to cough.

"I was just surprised, that's all," His shirt was completely see-through.

Mondo glared at Leon, who just laughed and swam away from them backwards. Chihiro continued to swim after him; soon getting him back by splashing a large wave of water over to him, making him sputter in surprise.

"Dude! Watch my piercings!" He teased.

"Ooooh, you guys sound like you're having fun! Let us in on it!" Junko grinned, diving down underwater.

"I would be nervous to swim in a bathing suit that small and tight," Sayaka commented, hiding behind Leon slightly. She was soaking wet; yet her sunglasses remained firmly on her face. Kyoko swam up behind Chihiro, staring at Sayaka slightly.

"Of course you lovely ladies can join us! We won't get mad! In fact, we welcome it!" Leon grinned. Junko resurfaced a few feet behind Mondo, smirking back.

"Glad to hear it! It's not a party unless Junko Oowada is involved!~" She then swam over to Sayaka, slapping her on the back as a joke.

Her sunglasses flew right off her face and splashed into the water, making Sayaka practically shriek in horror.

"M-My glasses! No! I-I have to get them back!" She quickly ducked underwater, swimming around feeling for them.

"T-They're just sunglasses...what's with all of the fuss...?" Chihiro questioned. Kyoko waded over to him and whispered into his ear, making his eyes widen. He gasped. "N-No way..."

Sayaka eventually resurfaced, her back to the group. Mondo swam over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She badly flinched at it, only to calm herself down.

"I couldn't find my glasses. Leon-kun! We should just head home. I'm worn-out anyway,"

"Come on, just calm down. If your eyes really are that sensitive, I'll just buy you a new pair," Mondo offered, spinning Sayaka around to face everyone.

Everyone promptly gasped upon beholding her face; even Junko legitimately seemed shocked by what she was seeing, and that was a very rare instance for her.

A large greenish-yellow bruise was over Sayaka's left eye; proof that it had been healing, but it was still noticeable. She quickly covered up her eye and started to swim away really rapidly, eventually ducking back underwater again.

"H-Her eye..." Aoi commented in horror. "S-Someone beat her up...who?"

"Her husband, I would assume," Kyoko said in a calm tone, making everyone look over at her. Once they fully processed the implications of what she meant, everyone then slowly turned to look at Leon, who had a scowl on his face.

"And why do you all just automatically assume I was the one who did that? How do you know that wasn't from her falling, or a bad fan?" He frowned.

"Hey guys...let's not get all violent about this," Makoto laughed backwardly, throwing up his hands.

"It's obvious it's you! I kept an eye on her ever since I arrived. Everytime you tried to touch her or raised your voice, she would flinch," Junko rolled her eyes.

"This is so stupid! How do you know it wasn't just that one time?" Leon continued to demand, but Junko just repeated her statement. She then swam off, storming out of the water.

"This is getting boring anyway. Where's my sister?" She looked around and found Mukuro laying on the sand on her own towel, Ishimaru reading to her from a textbook. She rolled her eyes, but still sat down next to them.

Mondo moved closer to Leon, cracking his knuckles. "I always got a bad vibe from you when we hung out together in high school. You always had a strange view of women. But I ignored it, because I always assumed it was just harmless flirting. I'm disgusted with you. You're married to such a nice and attractive girl, you got a kid, you all are really rich and famous, and yet you still hit her? What makes you think you can just get away with that?"

"Are they going to fight?" Chiaki finally looked up from the sandcastle her and Hifumi were building together.

"I don't need this. I'm just going to leave," Leon ducked underwater, but Mondo did the same, following after him.

"They're going to get into a fight! What should we do?" Aoi asked nervously.

"I don't really want to call the police on them...because I do agree with Mondo-kun, but..." Makoto looked at Kyoko and Chihiro, seemingly at a loss.

"Call the police. Better you do it than some random beach-goer," Kyoko then swam away, pulling herself out of the water and heading back to her spot. Chihiro hurried after her, walking past Sayaka. Her eyes were red and she had slid a jacket on over her swimsuit, about to go home. Chihiro glanced at her, then back at Kyoko, before he raced after Sayaka instead, sitting next to her when she sat down on a bench.

"Sayaka-chan..." He started, trembling slightly. She simply sniffled. "I-I'm...I'm really sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, but...!"

"I forgot to get fish at the store a few days ago. That is why he did it. He doesn't usually hit me, only when he's really angry, but lately..." Sayaka sighed. "I've been considering filing for divorce. But it would ruin my reputation, and it would ruin Desiree's reputation too..." She nervously fingered the ends of her bathing suit.

"...I wish we could've gotten married," He randomly blurted out before catching himself, blushing heavily. "I-I mean-!"

Sayaka finally looked at him, smiling a tiny bit. "I've often wondered the same thing myself. Even before...any of this happened. I always wondered what my life would be like if I married someone else. Would things truly be that different? Like, if I married Makoto-kun...would you still have married Kyoko-chan? Would Leon-kun have married some other girl? It makes me sit and think for hours sometimes, it does,"

Chihiro giggled. "I bet if we married, we'd have a daughter. Two of them. Twins!"

"You think so? I'd like some twins." She glanced down at her hands.

The two sat there in silence for some time, watching as Makoto nervously explained the situation to the police who had arrived recently and fished the two out of the water. They would be held in jail for the remainder of the day; as no punches were actually thrown but they were still being a public disturbance on a holiday. Junko simply waved sweetly to Mondo as he was dragged away.

Sayaka sighed and leaned back slightly. Chihiro stared at Kyoko, who was talking to Makoto and Aoi about something.

He recalled what Sayaka said and found himself thinking about attending Hope's Peak with Kyoko. Kyoko was the mysterious and silent girl who never really got close to anyone, despite participating in class events. Girls like Sayaka were far more popular, and even Chihiro had a huge crush on her when they were younger.

Despite being close to Makoto and assuming he would pick Kyoko, he was shocked when Makoto started to date Aoi their second year. Sayaka was the on-and-off girlfriend of Leon, and due to constantly hanging around him due to Makoto, Kyoko had grown closer to Chihiro. He felt guilty about taking her to prom when Makoto was dancing, and felt even guiltier about inviting him to their wedding. In a strange way, he felt as though he had taken something away from Makoto. Something that would've worked out in a different universe.

Even to this day he loved Kyoko despite wondering if he made the right choice. Makoto had told him over and over again over the phone during tearful late nights that he wasn't mad, really, he wasn't, he loved Aoi and he knew Chihiro loved Kyoko and sometimes things don't work out the way you planned but there was nothing wrong with that.

"Sorry about that, everyone!" Makoto announced to his guests, still trying his best to smile. "How about we eat lunch? And get our minds off everything!"

Everyone cheered at that thought, approving, and Makoto opened up the food court and got some hot dogs, walking over to one of the barbecue grills set out near the picnic area. Aoi hurried over to help him, noticing he was having trouble lighting it up.

"You have to just throw the match in...yeah, like that!" She smiled when Makoto finally threw a lit match into the pit, lighting it on grill. He waved some of the smoke away and started tossing hot dogs onto the grill.

"Want some ice cream?" Sayaka asked Chihiro cheerfully, and he nodded. He then stood up with a blush.

"I-I should be getting back to Kyoko-chan..." He dashed off in embarrassment, nearly ramming right into her. He gasped. "I-I'm sorry!"

"It's fine," She sat down at a picnic table, revealing she had two ice-cream cones.

"Oh, I was just about to buy one!" He smiled nicely at her, taking the chocolate one and licking it, getting the dessert all over his mouth. Some of it dribbled down his chin and onto his shirt, but he didn't seem to notice.

"...Today has certainly been interesting," Kyoko commented, making Chihiro jump. He then nodded in agreement. "I will admit, usually I'm not one for such chaos, but...for some reason, I've been having fun today. Maybe it's because you're here with me. You never seem to relax much at our house, and seeing you loosen up and have fun here is...fun," She smiled a small smile, making him blush even more.

Mukuro and Ishimaru sat at the table next to theirs, having both gotten chicken sandwiches and lemonade. Chiaki and Hifumi decided to sit with Chihiro and Kyoko; Chiaki having a green Popsicle.

"Did you go swimming earlier?" Chihiro asked curiously, noticing her gaming system still at her side. She shook her head.

"No. Hifumi-kun and I decided to build sandcastles! He's not the biggest fan of swimming. I'm not either. So it was a good solution! ...I think," She started to lick her Popsicle. It was melting slightly due to the hot weather, and soon a large chuck slid off her stick and into her cleavage. She shivered. "It's cold!"

"Here, I'll get it for you," Kyoko said, pulling out some napkins and leaning against the table, gently picking up the chunk and throwing it in the trash. Chiaki shivered again from how cold it was, noticing it left green residue behind. Hifumi blushed heavily at the sight, not even trying to hide it.

"Good on you for helping her out!" Ishimaru praised Kyoko. Mukuro started to loudly slurp her lemonade.

"Hey!~ Will you guys be done eating soon? Makoto-kun told us there's going to be a game of volleyball afterwards!" Junko came up behind Chihiro and leaned over, resting her breasts on his head. He blushed heavily and stiffened up.

"Volleyball? I wouldn't mind a game," Mukuro said quietly, stirring her straw around in her lemonade.

"It sucks that Mondo-kun and Leon-kun had to leave though. Like, they are total monsters when it comes to sports! They would've beaten anybody, no way, no how!~" Junko carried on. "But now we just are stuck with bad players..."

"I am very athletic! I served in the military and I always aced all of my physical exams in gym!" Ishimaru announced to Junko, who laughed.

"Then you can be on my team!~ Alongside my sister!~"

######

After they finished eating, Makoto and Aoi set up a large volleyball net, pulling out a blue and white spotted volleyball. Aoi tossed it above her head a few times. "Alright everyone! Let's get on teams!" She instantly hurried over to Makoto and grabbed his arm. Kyoko wandered over to their side of the net as well, and Chihiro hurried after her. The other team was made up of Mukuro, Ishimaru, Chiaki, and Hifumi, while Junko, Sayaka, Yuuto, Yukine, and Desiree all looked on and cheered.

"It doesn't look like we stand that much of a chance," Chiaki pointed out, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Negativity will only get us so far! We must change our attitudes and think on the positive side! We are not only capable of winning this, but we will win this!" Ishimaru explained in a triumphant tone of voice. Junko rolled her eyes in annoyance, while Mukuro anxiously readjusted the bow in her hair.

"Here it comes!" Aoi threw the ball up into the air and smacked it hard, making it sail over to the other side. Mukuro saw it and immediately rushed over, swinging her leg up and kicking it over to the other side, where Kyoko just barely managed to hit it back to the other side, and so on.

"Yeah! You go, Mom and Dad!" Yukine cheered eagerly.

"Isn't it strange that our parents are both on the same team?" Yuuto asked curiously. Desiree was sticking out her tongue in her compact, checking out her tongue ring until Sayaka nudged her and asked for her to put it away.

On and on the game went; Yuuto deciding he would be the one to keep score. The others agreed, as it seemed to make sense. He was the Ultimate Track Star, after all. After a few hours, the two teams decided they were thoroughly worn-out and looked to him for the scores.

"It was really close! I'm not going to lie, but...Mom and Dad's team won!" He announced happily.

"Really? Oh, that's great!" Aoi bounced up and down in excitement. "I didn't think we could!"

"We probably won because luck was on our side today," Kyoko quietly quipped.

"Awwww, looks like we lost," Chiaki pouted slightly, unclipping her DS to start playing it again.

"It was just a volleyball game," Mukuro tried to console her husband, who was crying surprisingly hard over their loss. "We can play it anytime you want. I'll even let you win," Junko started to laugh.

"It looks like it's gotten late!" Chihiro gasped, glancing up at the sky, which was starting to turn a light yellow.

"Have we really been here all day?" Kyoko asked in disbelief.

"Ugh, that means it's time to go get my husband out of the slammer...!" Junko rolled her eyes. "I don't feel like it..." She then glanced at Mukuro, who nodded. "Go get Mondo-kun outta jail for me when you two are heading home. I got more important things to do,"

"Why don't we...take a Selfie?" Chihiro asked shyly, heading back over to his bag and pulling out his phone. "There's just enough light left,"

"I'd love to," Kyoko said simply, getting in the shot with Chihiro. She politely stood next to him. They also took a few with their son; the Ultimate Cyberdetective, and some of Makoto and Aoi with Yuuto.

"Take a few shots of me! I'm one of the more famous people here!" Desiree protested, and Kyoko nodded and took a few of her posing. "I bet they turned out great! I'm just like Pops, I can't take a bad shot!" The Ultimate Punk Rocker grinned before Sayaka pulled her away. Junko had already left with her sister and Ishimaru, while Chiaki and Hifumi were in the process of building another sand castle. Chihiro snapped a quick picture of them before putting his phone away.

"Ah! You have chocolate all over your clothes!" Aoi suddenly gasped, pointing at him. "I just now realized it!"

Chihiro blushed in surprise. "It must've been there ever since lunch!" He wiped his mouth off vigorously with the back of his hand.

"I don't think anyone noticed though, which is good," Makoto reassured him, motioning for Yuuto to follow them before they started to gather up their things.

Chihiro and Kyoko followed their lead, picking up their things and heading into their car, making sure to lay down towels in the seats beforehand so no sea water or sand would get on them. Yukine buckled himself in and leaned over, cranking up the radio. Kyoko leaned back and started up the car; Chihiro shivering slightly.

"Did everyone have fun today?" He managed, smiling nervously.

"Of course! Yuuto-kun and I spent the whole entire day together! We had a bunch of swimming races,"

"Did you win?" Kyoko asked.

"No...there's no way I can win against someone whose Mom is the Ultimate Swimmer! But I got close a few times!" Yukine boasted proudly.

"Your talents lie in cyberspace, I'm afraid," Chihiro lightly teased. "And in detective work. And you weren't born in the summer, so that might also have something to do with it-!"

"Dad!" Yukine cut him off, laughing.

##########

Yukine went to bed early after they got home, feeling extremely exhausted. Chihiro and Kyoko both took a shower together to wash the beach stuff off themselves; they also had a little bit of 'extra' time to themselves after they were done washing. Afterwards, they both put on their pajamas; Kyoko had on a simple grey sweatshirt and purple sweatpants with her hair down while Chihiro put on a black tank top and dark blue shorts. The two started to watch TV, only to fall asleep after only about an hour into the show they had picked.

When they woke up the next morning, they heard someone knocking on the backdoor really urgently.

"Hm? Who's that?" Chihiro asked curiously. Kyoko narrowed her eyes, suddenly becoming more serious. She gently ushered Chihiro off her and slowly creeped towards the door, pulling it open. All of her cool exterior vanished when a crying Sayaka fell into her chest, a suitcase still on the back porch.

"Sayaka-chan?!" Chihiro asked in disbelief, not sure what to make of his old highschool crush having her back rubbed as she sobbed into his wife's chest.

After Sayaka composed herself somewhat, she took a big breath. "I-I...I did it. I broke up with Leon-kun. I told him my choice and showed him the official paperwork. M-My reputation...it's not worth being married to him anymore," She explained quietly, not wanting to wake up Yukine.

"T-That's good!" Chihiro cheered. "But...why are you here then?"

"H-He...kicked me out. He said if I wasn't going to listen to him anymore, then I can just live on the streets," She stood up straight. "Good riddance to him. He doesn't know I have a whole support network behind me,"

"So, you decided to move in with us?" Kyoko surmised. "I'm flattered, but we don't have any room,"

"That doesn't matter! I-I'll sleep on the couch! Or on the floor! I'll even sleep in your bed with you two! I just...need some time to get back on my feet..." Sayaka smiled cheerfully, despite the seriousness of the situation. Kyoko finally nodded.

"The couch it is." She pulled Sayaka's suitcase in and placed it next to the couch. "But only until you find a better place to live. We like you, we're your friends, but we don't have the room,"

"I understand! I understand completely!" Sayaka clasped her hands together. "I-I love you both so much for doing this for me!" She gave each of them a kiss on the lips, making Chihiro's whole face turn red and even a small blush formed on Kyoko's cheeks.

As Sayaka hummed to herself as she started getting herself settled in, Chihiro realized that perhaps there was some other universe out there where Kyoko had married Makoto and Sayaka had married him and everyone and everything was all perfect. Perhaps there were even other universes where he married different classmates of his. Maybe his life was better in those. Maybe his life was worse. He would likely never know.

But what he did know, as Sayaka moved in with the couple and became a second mother to Yukine and a second wife to Chihiro and Kyoko both, was that in this universe, everything would end up turning out alright. Somehow, everything would work themselves out.

And he was alright with that.


End file.
